From an Integrated Biochip Detection System to a Defensive Weapon Against the SARS-CoV Virus: OBMorph

Abstract

In this paper, an integrated multifunctional biochip detection system, which we call "OBMorph", are presented. This unique system integrates several optoelectronic-based biological diagnostic tools such as an ellipsometer, a laser Doppler vibrometer/interferometer, a SPR (surface plasmon resonance) analyzer, an interference microscope, a photon tunneling microscope, an optical coherence tomography unit and a confocal scanning microscope. This OBMorph system, useful as a powerful optical metrology diagnostic tool, can be used at the beginning of sensor chip fabrication, on to signal detecting and monitoring, and to the final biological analysis. The principles and experimental results of this multifunctional biochip detection OBMorph system are presented.In addition, an innovative SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus denaturing chemical compound that was derived using the OBMorph system to study biolinker fabrication in biochips, are discussed. Several testing strategies are presented herein which proves the effectiveness of the new chemical compound, biochip technology in denaturing the SARS virus. Analysis under an atomic force microscope confirms the actual breaking down of the virus treated by the chemical compound. The fundamentals of how the chemical compound denatures the virus and renders it toxicity useless, is based on principles of nanotechnology and bio-mechanics. Results from preliminary studies show that this denaturing principle can be also effective against other deadly viruses and even bacteria. Some design strategies and innovative working mechanisms derived from study of this chemical compound which can denature the SARS-CoV, are also discussed.

Elucidating the microscopic and computational techniques to study the structure and pathology of SARS‐CoVs

“…A thin layer of flash-frozen sample is scanned using low energy electrons to get a 2D image of the sampleResolution: 3.4 Å 3D reconstruction of the HCoV-NL63 spike glycoprotein trimmer Walls et al, 2016;Baker, 2018 Atomic force microscope (AFM) AFM works by scanning the sample surface with a cantilever probe to which a LASER is pointed to measure surface variationsWorking modes-tapping mode, contact mode, and noncontact modeResolution: up to 30 nm Study the surface ultrastructure of SARS-CoVObserve the changes in the cell membrane during the release of a virion particleStudy the absorption of SARS-CoV viral particles in biopolymeric vesiclesTo study the structure and size of spike proteins which is present in the viral coat Yang, 2004;Lin et al, 2005;Eaton & West, 2010;Ng et al, 2004;Ciejka, Wolski, Nowakowska, Pyrc, & Szczubiałka, 2017;Lee et al, 2004 Fluorescence Lichtman & Conchello, 2005;Wang et al, 2008;Lu, Liu, & Tam, 2008;Manopo et al, 2005;Yuan et al, 2006;Yuan et al, 2005;Knoops et al, 2008 novel coronavirus that was successfully isolated from patients with SARS and identified them using TEM. The oropharyngeal sample from the patient was inoculated into Vero E6 mammalian cell lines (Ksiazek et al, 2003).…”

Nanoscale virus biosensors: state of the art

“…In this proof-of-concept design, the M13K07 bacteriophage was used as a model target. 179 Lee et al 180 described a unique system integrating several optoelectronic-based biological diagnostic tools such as an ellipsometer, a laser Doppler vibrometer/interferometer, SPR analyzer, an interference microscope, a photon tunneling microscope, an optical coherence tomography unit, and a confocal scanning microscope. This OBMorph system, useful as a powerful optical metrology diagnostic tool, can be used at the beginning of sensor chip fabrication, during the signal detection/monitoring, and in the final biological analysis.…”

“…This OBMorph system, useful as a powerful optical metrology diagnostic tool, can be used at the beginning of sensor chip fabrication, during the signal detection/monitoring, and in the final biological analysis. 180 …”

Interdisciplinary Research Drivers and Serendipity Factor: An Applied Mechanics Perspective on Some Past Application Platforms

“…For our purposes, one example of the above-mentioned perceptual model of serendipity is our newly developed "OBMorph", a multi-functional bio-oriented microscope which was used to successfully create protective gear and facemasks for use against the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus during the SARS crisis [22,23] in the early 2000s. The OBMorph work was also extended to create a paper speaker (FleXpeaker) [24] that won various awards.…”

“…The team also had an underlying belief that a world-class team must also assume social responsibility and focus on research that can benefit others. The interdisciplinary character of the research team and the team's dedication to pursuing socially-useful outcomes was later identified as the key serendipity factor which drove the successful research [22,23].…”