Rutgers Gets NIH Grant To Invent Coronavirus Breath Test

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — This April, a team of researchers at Rutgers University was given a $443,000 grant from the National Institute of Health to develop a device that can detect viruses such as coronavirus on one’s breath.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is the director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Disease At the National Institute of Health.

The Rutgers scientists say such a device does not currently exist, but if they can built it, it could get results "in minutes" and without the need for an uncomfortable swab test.

Think of it like a breathalyzer, say Rutgers professors: The device will allow people to breathe into it, collect aerosol particles when they exhale, deposit the particles into an electronic biosensor, and give a quick result.

The device could be used for not just coronavirus, but also several different respiratory viruses, such the flu, Legionnaires' disease and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

The Rutgers researchers expect to present the prototype in two years.

In the past year of the pandemic, Rutgers has been home to several innovations when it comes to fighting the disease: It was genetic researchers affiliated with Rutgers who first developed the coronavirus spit test last March, which was fast-tracked for FDA approval under then-President Trump. All one had to do was spit into a test tube, without an uncomfortable, high-reaching swab up the nasal cavity.

In April of last year, Rutgers also launched a clinical trial to see if people with early-stage COVID, but whose symptoms were mild, could be treated effectively with a combination of azithromycin and hydroxychloroquine.

The grant is a two-year award.

The Rutgers researchers are Edward DeMauro, German Drazer, Hao Lin and Mehdi Javanmard, under the guidance of Rutgers HealthAdvance Fund™.

“I have a four-year-old daughter and I can get her to breathe into a device like the one we are developing. There are plenty of existing tests, including Rutgers’ saliva tests, that are also minimally invasive," said DeMauro. "And for reopening large venues, we also want to get results quickly at the point of administration. Our target for results is 10 minutes, which is precisely what our preliminary data is showing us with SARS-CoV-2."

DeMauro is also the assistant professor in the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering who runs the Emil Buehler Supersonic Wind Tunnel at Rutgers.

The breathalyzer will also use another technology created at Rutgers by Javanmard, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

“We had the concept, the pieces of technology, and we wanted to use a sensor developed by professor Javanmard," said Professor Drazer. "We had the expertise for a filtration system based on capturing particles in liquid columns and thought we could use similar ideas for capturing aerosol particles from exhaled breath. These would be the droplets present in a person’s breath that can infect other people."

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