Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a breath test that quickly identifies those who are infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. The device requires only one or two breaths and provides results in less than a minute.
The study is available online in the journal ACS Sensors. The same group of researchers recently published a paper in the journal Nature Communications about an air monitor they had built to detect airborne SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — within about five minutes in hospitals, schools and other public places.
Ghumra DP, Nishit, S, McBrearty KR, Puthussery JV, Sumlin BJ, Gardiner W, Doherty BM, Magrecki JP, Brody DL, Esparza TJ, O’Halloran J, Presti R, Bricker TL, Boon ACM, Yuede CM, Cirrito, JR, Chakrabarty RK. Rapid direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols in exhaled breath at the point-of-care. ACS Sensors, July 27, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.3c00512