Illinois Featured Content

  • Nanorobot hand made of DNA grabs viruses for diagnostics and blocks cell entry

    Nov 27, 2024 10:30 am by Liz Ahlberg TouchstoneInnovation
    Illinois researchers developed a nanorobotic hand made of DNA that can grab viruses for detection or inhibition. In this artist’s rendering, three “NanoGripper” hands wrap around a COVID-19 virus. Image courtesy of Xing Wang

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    • Illinois researchers developed a nanorobotic hand made of DNA that can grab viruses for detection or inhibition. In this artist’s rendering, three “NanoGripper” hands wrap around a COVID-19 virus. Image courtesy of Xing Wang

    U. of I. researchers created a four-fingered 'hand' folded from a single piece of DNA that can pick up the virus that causes COVID-19 for highly sensitive rapid detection and can even block viral particles from entering cells to infect them.