Biosensor technology could allow rapid detection of Ebola virus

Rapid detection of viruses among potential applications of research at UC Santa Cruz. In 2010, Ahmet Ali Yanik published his first paper on the rapid detection of Ebola virus using new biosensor technology, he and colleagues at Boston University had invented. But he found there was little interest at the time in developing the technology further. “People told me that there wasn’t any profit in it, because this disease only affects people in the developing world,” Yanik said. Now, however, Ebola hemorrhagic fever has captured the attention of first world countries in a big way. The current outbreak in West Africa began spreading out of control just as Yanik was setting up his lab as a new faculty member at UC Santa Cruz, where he is an assistant professor of electrical engineering. Yanik plans to resume his work on virus detection in addition to ongoing projects involving biosensors for other biomedical applications. The...