Budding researcher publishes article on cost-effective virus detection using nanotechnology

Chandrajeet Dhara, School of Bioscience, Apeejay Stya University (ASU), has authored a review article on nanotechnology with his classmate Suraj Singh Rawat. The article has been published as a chapter in the book “Interdisciplinary Approach of Science in Nanotechnology and Metabolomics”.  

What is the article about?

The paper is titled “Role of QD-FRET Based Nanosensors in the Detection of Virus: A Review”. QD refers to Quantum Dots, which are man-made nanoscale crystals that can transport electrons. FRET refers to Forster Resonance Energy Transfer, named after its inventor Theodor Forster, a German scientist. 

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In the article, the authors discuss the “latest novelties in the development of QD-FRET nanosensors and their role in 9the) the detection of viruses”.  Further explaining the idea, they write, “We suggest that QD-FRET based nano biosensors can be used in the many fields of research and can play a key role in point-to-care diagnostics which is cost-effective, (easily) available and easy to use, and most important, sensitive.”

Dhara explains, “As part of a college assignment on nanoscience, we were asked to write a review article on any topic related to nanotechnology. I wanted to choose a topic that would be unique and that is how I zeroed in on this particular subject.”

What was the process?

The semester III students took about two-three months to complete their first-ever full-fledged review article. “The first challenge was choosing the topic. I had to go through a lot of articles before finalising the topic. And in the process, I found there was ample research individually on nanosensors and virus detection. That’s when I thought of combining the two topics — using QD-FRET nanosensors as a tool for virus detection.

“We referred to Google Scholar and went through many primary and secondary sources. We read a lot of articles and journals and made our library. We started writing the manuscript after reading around 10-15 papers,” Dhara mentioned.

The other big challenge was collecting data. “Even though you have readily available online resources, it is not exactly easy to find data for something as niche as our topic. We had to be very careful to not digress from the main idea,” he said.

Talking about the support he got from his guide, Dr Sonam Raheja, Department of Physics, School of Engineering and Technology, ASU, Dhara shared, “She told me how to write the references and citations. She also helped me edit the paper.”