Traditional respiratory virus testing methods rely on chemical reactions to identify certain possible "culprits.". But now, scientists from the University of Texas at Austin in the United States report that they are using a single atom thick nanomaterial to make a device that can simultaneously detect COVID-19 and influenza virus, and the detection threshold is much lower than the traditional detection method, and the speed is also faster, and the results can be obtained in about 10 seconds. The researchers will present the results at the 2023 American Chemical Society Spring Meeting. The extremely thin nature of graphene makes it very sensitive to any electrical changes in the environment. The use of graphene and other similar nanomaterials to manufacture sensors suitable for various applications has great potential. To make sensors, researchers must make graphene react to the presence of viral proteins. To do this, they studied the immune system, which produces antibodies that are finely tuned to identify and target specific pathogens. The researchers linked the antibodies to COVID-19 and influenza virus with graphene. When a sample from an infected person is placed on a sensor, these antibodies bind to their target protein, causing a change in electrical current. The sensor is approximately 6.5 square centimeters in size. The researchers used the proteins of these viruses, which are transported into saliva like fluids. The results show that the sensor can not only detect the presence of proteins, but also detect viruses in extremely low amounts. This sensitivity indicates that the sensor can be used to detect more sparse viral particles found in respiration. In addition, the sensor operates very quickly and can produce results within approximately 10 seconds after placing a sample. In contrast, the traditional detection of COVID-19 infection may take several hours, depending on the type of detection, while the dual detection of COVID-19 and influenza virus recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration takes about half an hour to get results. (Liao Xinshe)