Collaborative Research: Waveguide-Integrated Graphene Nano-tweezERs (WIGNER) for rapid sorting and analysis of nanovesicles and viruses

合作研究：用于快速分选和分析纳米囊泡和病毒的波导集成石墨烯纳米镊子（WIGNER）

基本信息

批准号：
2227459
负责人：
Nathan Youngblood
金额：
$ 25万
依托单位：
University of Pittsburgh
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2022
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2227459&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Collaborative Research Waveguide Integrated Graphene

项目摘要

Nontechnical description: This project aims to design and demonstrate a sensing platform which incorporates recent advances in both electrical trapping and integration of optical circuits for rapid concentrating, sorting, and analysis of biological nanoparticles. Viruses and cellular fragments extracted from liquid samples of a patient (e.g., urine, blood, etc.) contain abundant diagnostic information which can be used to detect and treat many diseases. However, detecting a specific target bioparticle from a mixture of many other particles in the sample complicates diagnostics. Current methods for isolating the targe bioparticles often require time-consuming processes such as multiple filtering or centrifugation stages, followed by amplification. Therefore, an active biosensor which rapidly sorts, traps, and detects bioparticles based on their size and physical properties would have significant impact on the field of biosensing and medical diagnostics. Mass producing such sensors could reduce the complexity, cost, and delay for patients undergoing medical diagnostic tests. This project also provides mentoring and outreach opportunities for undergraduate and high school students who are underrepresented in STEM fields.Technical description: This project will develop a biosensor which can sort, trap, and detect extracellular vesicles (EVs) and viral specimens by combining highly confined evanescent field excitation from visible waveguides with dielectrophoretic (DEP) trapping using atomically sharp graphene electrodes. To demonstrate this Waveguide-Integrated Graphene Nano-tweezERs (or “WIGNER”) platform, the team will: 1) combine transparent DEP graphene electrodes and silicon nitride photonic waveguides; 2) integrate microfluidics for efficient aqueous nanovesicle sorting and trapping; and 3) demonstrate rapid detection and analysis of single nanovesicles and viruses using line-imaging optical scattering, fluorescence, and Raman spectroscopy. The project aims to enable physiologically selective, multimodal analysis of nanovesicles and viruses at speeds ~100× faster than conventional scanning methods (i.e., confocal fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy). Project outcomes will have immediate relevance for emerging applications in life sciences (e.g., elucidating cell signaling pathways), nanomedicine (e.g., dynamic antibody binding response to lipid membranes used in mRNA vaccines), and disease diagnosis (e.g., amplification-free viral detection).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

非技术描述：该项目旨在设计和演示一个传感平台，该平台融合了电捕获和光学电路集成方面的最新进展，用于快速浓缩、分类和分析从患者液体样本中提取的生物纳米颗粒（例如，尿液、血液等）含有丰富的诊断信息，可用于检测和治疗许多疾病。然而，从样品中许多其他颗粒的混合物中检测特定的目标生物颗粒变得复杂。目前分离目标生物颗粒的方法通常需要耗时的过程，例如多个过滤或离心阶段，然后进行放大，因此，需要一种根据生物颗粒的大小和物理特性快速分类、捕获和检测生物颗粒的主动生物传感器。对生物传感和医学诊断领域产生重大影响，大规模生产此类传感器可以降低接受医学诊断测试的患者的复杂性、成本和延迟。该项目还为本科生和学生提供指导和推广机会。 STEM 领域代表性不足的高中生。技术描述：该项目将开发一种生物传感器，通过将可见光波导的高度受限倏逝场激发与介电泳 (DEP) 相结合，可以对细胞外囊泡 (EV) 和病毒样本进行分类、捕获和检测使用原子级锋利的石墨烯电极进行捕获为了演示这种波导集成石墨烯纳米镊子（或“WIGNER”）平台，该团队将：1) 结合透明 DEP 石墨烯电极和氮化硅光子波导；2) 集成微流体以实现高效的水性纳米囊泡分选和捕获；3) 演示使用线成像光学散射、荧光对单个纳米囊泡和病毒进行快速检测和分析。该项目旨在以比传统扫描快 100 倍的速度对纳米囊泡和病毒进行生理选择性、多模式分析。方法（即共焦荧光和拉曼光谱）将与生命科学（例如阐明细胞信号传导途径）、纳米医学（例如对 mRNA 疫苗中使用的脂质膜的动态抗体结合反应）等新兴应用产生直接相关性。疾病诊断（例如，无扩增病毒检测）。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估，被认为值得支持标准。