Researchers at the University of California San Diego are developing a color-changing mask sticker to detect early COVID-19 infections.
The sticker is a test strip that sticks to a user's N95, surgical or cloth mask and is meant to detect SARS-CoV-2 in the wearer's breath or saliva. After removing their mask, the wearer conducts the test by squeezing the contents of a blister pack onto the test strip, which changes color in the presence of SARS-CoV-2 protein-cleaving molecules. The test works like a home pregnancy test, with a control line on the test strip showing what a positive result looks like, according to the news release.
"Think of this as a surveillance approach, similar to having a smoke detector in your house," said Jesse Jokerst, PhD, lead principal investigator of the project and nanoengineering professor at UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. "This would just sit in the background everyday and if it gets triggered, then you know there's a problem and that's when you would look into it with more sophisticated testing."
Researchers anticipate the test strips could be produced for a few cents each, making them affordable for daily surveillance in high-risk settings for infection such as group homes, prisons, and homeless shelters, among others.
Dr. Jokerst is working with researchers from UC San Diego School of Medicine to test the first strips on positive COVID-19 saliva samples before testing them on patients and healthcare workers at Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System.
To read the full news release, click here.
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