UT scientists develop a cheaper, faster method to rapidly detect viruses

Adam Hilterbrand, a microbiology graduate student, and Jeffrey Dick, an electrical chemistry graduate student, developed this method through their work with murine cytomegalovirus, a form of human papillomavirus (HPV) found in mice. They chose this particular virus because of its strong physiological similarities, such as shape and size, to the human strain of HPV. This new method involves using electrodes to collect indicators of the disease from urine samples. Hilterbrand said that current diagnostic tests are expensive and involve complex procedures. “We are using an already contaminated biological sample like urine, which requires less sampling preparation to test for pathogens,” Hilterbrand said. One key component of Hilterbrand and Dick’s diagnostic test involves the use of a catalyst to amplify the amount of reactions that occur on the electrode. They developed this new technique based off of a chemical reaction used in glucometers, which measure glucose in the blood. Glucometers contain an enzyme, glucose oxidase,...