In March 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic launching large-scale lockdowns and a rush toward both effective testing and vaccines. SARS-COV-2 (the virus which causes COVID-19) is an RNA virus which uses RNA as its genetic material to inject into host cells causing the host to transcribe and replicate more viral proteins. The state-of-the-art testing for this disease involves either expensive yet accurate polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing or the less trustworthy rapid antigen test, this work describes a new test platform using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in an effective assay. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are hybrid crystalline compounds consisting of metal cations or clusters interconnected by polytopic ligands into a three-dimensional porous structure, yielding a large internal surface area in which a variety of molecules can be adsorbed. This project uses MOFs to effectively detect viruses through viral RNA binding to complementary oligonucleotides tagged with a fluorescent label which have been adsorbed in the MOF pores. This work entails the synthesis of a reported mesoporous MOF and the adsorption of fluorescein amidite (FAM) labeled DNA of 25 nucleotide length, which is complementary to a unique sequence of RNA in the SAR-COV-2 genome. A DNA strand (model molecule of viral RNA) complementary to the adsorbed labeled DNA was added to form a duplex and is ejected from the MOF pore, resulting in the regeneration of fluorescence in the supernatant, detectable by fluorescence spectroscopy and visual color change of MOF assay.

Metal-organic framework-based biosensor for detection of SARS-CoV-2

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.