Health workers disinfect a traditional market in Incheon, west of Seoul, ahead of the upcoming Chuseok holiday on Sept. 15, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean research team has developed the technology and equipment to detect viruses in an indoor environment in just 50 minutes.
A joint research team from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, and Konkuk University’s Department of Veterinary Medicine announced Thursday that they it had developed an all-in-one diagnosis platform that collects and detects viruses suspended in the air.
The research team combined a device that sucks in air and collects viruses and germs using a porous pad with a diagnosis kit that reacts with the virus sample when it comes in contact with nanoparticles with antibodies, creating a disposable kit capable of both collecting and detecting viruses.
This new kit is similar to a pregnancy test kit, and works for 10 to 30 minutes collecting air, then 20 minutes analyzing its components to deliver the diagnosis in less than 50 minutes, without having to wash or separate them.
More than four kits can be used simultaneously to detect a wider variety of viruses.
“This new platform can be used to monitor indoor air quality, including biological threats such as the coronavirus,” said Dr. Lee Jun-seok from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
