Brilliant 10: The Light Wrangler
Using metal chips and light, clinicians will be able to detect viruses in even rural medical clinics One of the many challenges of practicing medicine in developing countries is performing quick, reliable diagnosis of infectious disease. To bring rapid virus diagnostics to underserved populations, engineer Hatice Altug and her research team at Boston University have created and tested a biosensor that detects disease-causing organisms with precisely directed light. The central component of Altug's biosensor is a metal sheet pierced by millions of 300-nanometer holes. Altug covers the sheet with antibodies and shines light of a particular wavelength on it. The electrons in the metal interact with the light and resonate, then re-radiate light of the same color on the other side of the sheet. Coated with the correct antibodies, the metal sheet will grab virus particles out of a blood serum sample as it flows through the tiny holes. And once stuck,...