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In a significant breakthrough, a research team led by Professor Kyoung-Duck Park and PhD candidates Taeyoung Moon and Huitae Joo from the Department of Physics at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) has engineered a cutting-edge “broadband nanogap gold spectroscopic sensor” capable of rapidly detecting various types of materials, including infectious disease viruses, with unprecedented precision and speed.
The pressing need for rapid and accurate analytical methods, particularly in the face of pandemic outbreaks like COVID-19, has underscored the importance of advanced technologies for virus detection. Raman spectroscopy, a technique that analyzes molecular vibrations to identify distinct “molecular fingerprints,” holds immense potential in this regard.
Traditionally, high-sensitivity Raman spectroscopy sensors could only detect one type of virus per device, limiting their productivity, detection speed, and cost effectiveness for clinical applications. However, the research team’s groundbreaking innovation has overcome these limitations by fabricating a one-dimensional structure featuring gold nanogaps capable of accommodating single molecules with remarkable precision.
By integrating flexible materials onto the substrate of the gold nanogap spectroscopic sensor, the team has enabled large-area, high-sensitivity Raman spectroscopic sensing. Moreover, they have developed a source technology for a broadband active nano-spectral sensor, allowing tailored detection of specific substances, including viruses, using a single device.
Key advancements include improving sensor sensitivity and controllability through adaptive optics technology, akin to that used in space optics such as the James Webb Telescope. Additionally, the team has laid the groundwork for extending the fabricated one-dimensional structure into a two-dimensional spectroscopic sensor, potentially amplifying Raman spectroscopic signals by several billion times.
Taeyoung Moon, lead author of the paper, emphasized the far-reaching implications of their achievement, stating, “This not only advances basic scientific research but also facilitates practical applications, enabling rapid detection of a broad spectrum of emerging viruses using a single, tailored sensor.”
The collaborative research, conducted in conjunction with Professor Dai-Sik Kim’s team from UNIST’s Department of Physics and Professor Yung Doug Suh’s team from UNIST’s Department of Chemistry, holds immense promise for real-time, high-sensitivity virus testing. The findings, published in the prestigious international journal Nano Letters, mark a significant milestone in the fight against infectious diseases and pave the way for a future where rapid virus detection is both feasible and accessible.
