Tech Briefs Magazine - May 2024 - 18

Glow Sticks: From Parties to Detecting Biothreats for
the Navy
The shelf-stable, low-toxicity, low-cost chemistry of common glow sticks is being used to
develop bright and rapid diagnostic tests called lateral flow immunoassays.
University of Houston, TX
R
emember that party where you were
swinging glow sticks above your head
or wearing them as necklaces? Fun
times, right? Science times, too. Turns
out those fun party favors are now being
used by a University of Houston researcher
to identify emerging biothreats
for the United States Navy.
It's not the odd combination it may
seem at first glance. Largely due to climate
change, the environmental niches
that can be occupied by threat-producing
species are expanding. As environmental
biothreats increase, so does their
accessibility and potential concern from
a biodefense perspective. Currently,
there is a need to detect and diagnose
certain emerging biothreats, especially
in far-forward settings.
" We are for the first time applying the
shelf-stable, low-toxicity, low-cost chemistry
of common glow sticks to develop
bright and rapid diagnostic tests called
lateral flow immunoassays (LFIs) like fluorescent-dyed
nanoparticles that, when
exposed to glow stick activation chemicals,
emit bright visible light that can be
readily imaged using a smartphone or
simple camera, " said Professor Richard
Willson. " We will adapt the technology of
glow sticks widely used in military signaling
applications to excite fluorescent LFI
particles to increase their detectability. "
Here's how they work: When you bend
a common glow stick, it breaks a small
glass container inside holding a mix of
3 percent hydrogen peroxide and another
substance. This mix reacts with a
chemical stored outside the glass, creating
a new substance that is quite reactive.
When it collides with special colorful
dyes, it gives them energy and makes
them light up.
That's usually the time you lose interest
in them and toss them away - but not
so for Willson, who has entered into an
agreement with the U.S. Navy, with the future
potential to receive task orders of $1.3
million, to develop improved rapid detection
technology for emerging biothreats
to support forward deployable testing efforts
and develop high-affinity reagents for
the new technology. High-affinity reagents
are substances or molecules that exhibit a
strong and specific attraction or binding
to a particular target.
The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized
the need for rapid, inexpensive, and ultrasensitive
immunoassays for point-ofcare
diagnostic applications. Lateral-flow
immunoassays such as the home pregnancy
test and COVID-19 rapid antigen
test are successfully used by untrained
persons to detect medically important
chemicals but have limited analytical
sensitivity and typically detect only a single
chemical.
" Our novel Glow LFIs are very sensitive;
preliminary results for Glow LFI
detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein
spiked in nasal swab extract show an
unoptimized limit of detection of 100
picograms per milliliter, already better
than typical LFIs, " said Willson, whose
research with the glow stick method
also shows detection of other known
biothreats.
As part of the ongoing research Willson
will also develop a pipeline to produce
new high-affinity reagents to be
employed in these new detection assays.
For more information, contact Laurie
Fickman at lafickman@uh.edu; 713-7438454.
Lab-on-a-Chip
Genetic Test Device Identifies Viruses
Within Three Minutes
Made with off-the-shelf components the device could be made on a mass scale quickly.
University of Bath, United Kingdom
D
eveloped by engineers at the University
of Bath, the prototype LoCKAmp device
uses innovative Lab-on-a-Chip technology
and has been proven to provide rapid
and low-cost detection of COVID-19 from
nasal swabs. The research team said the
technology could easily be adapted to detect
other pathogens such as bacteria - or
even conditions like cancer.
The device works by rapidly releasing
and amplifying genetic material
18
from a nasal swab sample by carrying
out a chemical reaction to produce a
result, which can be viewed on a smartphone
app.
Made with off-the-shelf components
and factory-manufactured printed
circuit boards, the prototype device
could be made on a mass scale quickly
and at low cost, presenting care
providers and public health bodies
around the world with an effective new
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tool in virus detection. The research
team said a commercial partner with
the relevant design and manufacturing
expertise could quickly redesign
the LoCKAmp into a small, portable
device - with great potential for use
in remote healthcare settings.
" We started researching and developing
LoCKAmp during the second wave of
COVID in the U.K., " said Research Lead
Dr. Despina Moschou. " We were confiTech
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