Cell Biosensors: Rapid Detection and Identification of Pathogens Using FTIR Microspectroscopic Spectra

Abstract : Life threatening virus infections require the earliest possible identification in order to save lives and preserve wellbeing. Field detection of viruses causing infection is vital to limit the detrimental effects of pathogen spread. Currently, rapid identification of specific virus infections requires a minimum of days-to-weeks to accomplish, often requiring expansion of virus in cell culture before application of other diagnostic techniques, e.g., PCR, which requires some knowledge of what type of virus is involved for selection of appropriate primers, or immunoassays. We hypothesized that cells can be utilized as biosensors that can be probed using FTIR microspectroscopy to identify specific viruses to which they are exposed. We envision that this technology can be contained within a portable device to probe for infectious virus. To test this hypothesis, we exposed cells to virus or mock-infected cell lysates to determine the earliest time points at which virus could be detected, identified, and differentiated from other agents. Next, spectral bands that discriminated between viruses were selected and a neural network was trained to classify the spectra based on the selected bands. Finally, we identified specific intracellular signaling pathways in cells at different time points following exposure to selected viruses. Induction of specific signaling pathways initiates the innate defenses in the cell in response to specific viruses. Each specific virus has evolved and selected for different strategies to redirect these innate defenses to permit the virus to replicate successfully, a process, which is dependent on the cell remaining viable.