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Probing interactions of biological systems at the molecular level is of great importance to fundamental biology, diagnosis, and drug discovery. A rational bioassay design of lithographically integrating individual point scattering sites into electrical circuits is capable of realizing real-time, label-free biodetection of influenza H1N1 viruses with single-molecule sensitivity and high selectivity by using silicon nanowires as local reporters in combination with microfluidics. This nanocircuit-based architecture is complementary to more conventional optical techniques, but has the advantages of no bleaching problems and no fluorescent labeling. These advantages offer a promising platform for exploring dynamics of stochastic processes in biological systems and gaining information from genomics to proteomics to improve accurate molecular and even point-of-care clinical diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influenza epidemics worldwide result in substantial economicand human costs annually. However, rapid and reliable flu diagnosismethods are significantly lacking. Here we have demonstrated the selectivedetection of influenza A viruses down to 29 viruses/μL in clinicalexhaled breath condensate (EBC) samples (diluted by 100-fold) withinminutes using silicon nanowire (SiNW) sensor devices. For 90% of thecases, we have observed that EBC samples tested positive or negativeby gold standard method RT-qPCR generated corresponding positive ornegative SiNW sensor responses. High selectivity of SiNW sensing wasalso demonstrated using H1N1 viruses, 8 iso PGF 2a, and inert nanoparticles.Finally, magnetic beads were shown capable of enhancing SiNW sensingdirectly for low level viruses and 8 iso PGF 2a. When calibrated byvirus standards and EBC controls, our work suggests that the SiNWsensor device can be reliably applied to the diagnosis of flu in aclinical setting with 2 orders of magnitude less time compared tothe gold standard method RT-qPCR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The front cover design of the international edition of volume 53, number 20, 2014 issue of the journal "Angewandte Chemie" is presented.