Russia invented a "scanner" for bacteria and viruses

Reporter : Alexy Mosko / Publisher : Russia Perspective / http://tsrus.cn/keji/2020/10/14/670633 / Direct translation

The Moscow Institute of Engineering Physics (MEPhI) of the Russian National Nuclear Energy Research University has created an instrument called Trigger-BIO that can determine whether there are pathogenic viruses, bacteria or a toxic substance secreted by living organisms in the air and toxins in just a few seconds. It works round the clock without manual intervention. 

Trigger-BIO can identify 86 kinds of pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2 that causes the pandemic. The instrument not only recognizes quickly, but the recognition accuracy is not lower than the laboratory analysis process. 

The research center developed this new instrument based on an order from the Russian Ministry of Health. 

Virus and bacteria "scanner" tests passed at the centre. How does the "scanner" work? 

The instrument collects an air sample and uses a substance that emits fluorescence to act on it. Fluorescence is the light emitted when the substance absorbs electromagnetic radiation. Scientists use two such substances: tryptophan (an amino acid) and NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, a coenzyme), which are most commonly used in the analysis of suspended particles. 

Trigger-BIO can detect 27 liters of air in one minute, or more specifically, bioaerosol, which is a gas mixture with living active particles and inanimate active particles. Light emitting diodes with wavelengths of 280 nm and 365 nm are used to radiate each air sample. In this way, the instrument performs spectral analysis to obtain information about each particle that enters its field of view. The irradiated particles generate a certain signal, and the instrument verifies it through the database. If it matches the signal of a known pathogen, the detected harmful biomass will be recorded. 

Is there a similar product for this instrument? 

The epidemic is on the rise. Russia has reinforced anti-epidemic measures. There are already many instruments in the world that can test the ambient air in real time. Instruments that use fluorescence like Trigger-BIO include UV-APS and WIBS in the US, MBS in the UK, SIBS in Germany, and Rapid-E in Switzerland. There are also instruments that use other technologies, such as mass spectrometry. This kind of instrument irradiates the air with a laser, and instantly determines the molecular composition of substances in the air. 

Another technique is laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS--Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy), which uses sparks ignited by lasers to turn air samples into micro-plasma, which can decompose particles and determine their chemical composition. There is another type of instrument that works based on Raman spectroscopy, and the detected substance will not be destroyed. The instrument judges its properties by the reflection of light beams of specific wavelengths. 

There are also some air testers that can react to the DNA of harmful substances (1,2). It uses a technique called Polymerase Chain Reaction. This technology can increase the gene concentration of the required substances in the air sample. So this instrument is very sensitive to pathogens (such as infectious disease pathogens). 

The problem with these hazardous substance detection instruments is that they are mainly suitable for detecting bacterial and fungal infections, and their ability to detect viruses is much lower, which has been confirmed by research. The main reason is the small size of these instruments and insufficient genetic information. 

Will Russian instruments detect viruses more effectively? 

Russia-made vaccine is about to go on the market. The West slanders Russia and China for stealing research results. It is difficult to say so with confidence because Trigger-BIO has not yet released an official document. The diameter of the virus varies from 20 to 500 nanometers, so the instrument must be sensitive to particles of this size. SARS-CoV-2 is about 100 nanometers in diameter. The scientist who conducted the test said that the effectiveness of the new instrument would be comparable to that in a professional biological laboratory.

 Artem Tkachuk, director of the Translational Biomedical Laboratory of the Gamaliel Center, said this can be achieved by using multiple independent modules that can perform precise and specific analyses. Due to the simultaneous use of two fluorescent substances, the effectiveness of Trigger-BIO is also improved. 

According to Gennadiy Kotkovskiy, associate professor of the Department of Electronics, Spintronics and Photonics at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute of the Russian State University of Nuclear Energy Research, the sensitivity of the instrument can be achieved by using the single-photon counting method to generate signals from irradiated particles. It can be increased tenfold. 

How to use the instrument in practice? 

Trigger-BIO can greatly promote rapid diagnosis in large-scale crowds. In the face of the pandemic, all governments in the world face this task. The existing detection methods are not very effective. Studies (1,2) have shown that remote body temperature measurement cannot reliably show whether a person is infected with SARS-CoV-2. The Gamalea Center announced that it will start installing the instrument in the subways and airports of major cities in Russia in October. Although the size of the instrument is small (less than 6 kg), it can cover an area of ​​about 100 square metres. It can be directly connected to the central ventilation system.