Cornell University researchers developing fibers that could be used in bird flu fight
Detecting bacteria, viruses such as bird flu and other dangerous substances in hospitals, airplanes and other commonly contaminated places could soon be as easy as wiping a napkin or paper towel across a surface.
“It’s very inexpensive, it wouldn’t require that someone be highly trained to use it, and it could be activated for whatever you want to find,” said Margaret Frey, the Lois and Mel Tukman Assistant Professor of Fiber Science and Apparel Design at Cornell University.
“So if you’re working in a meat-packing plant, for instance, you could swipe it across some hamburger and quickly and easily detect E. coli bacteria.” She reported on the research Sept. 11 at the American Chemical Society’s national meeting.
“The fabric basically acts as a sponge that you can use to dip in a liquid or wipe across a surface,” Frey said. “The fabric itself will transport and concentrate the targeted biohazard. As you do that, antibodies in the fabric are going to selectively latch onto whatever pathogen that they match. Using this method we should, in theory, be able to quickly activate the fabric to detect whatever is the hazard of the week, whether it is bird flu, mad cow disease or anthrax.”
Frey and her colleagues are still working on ways, such as a color change, for the fabric to signal that it has identified the contaminant.
“We’re probably still a few years away from having this ready for the real world,” Frey said, “but I really believe there is a place for this type of product that can be used by people with limited training to provide a fast indication of whether a biohazard is present.”
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