Whirlpools are mostly associated with death and danger on the high seas, but these glowing vortexes are working to help humanity.

vortex 1

Source: Tony Jun Huang, Duke University

Whirlpools efficiently trap cells, bacteria and other larger bioparticles to purify samples for biomedical tests.

One of the most difficult steps in creating diagnostic tests is purifying samples to remove unwanted particles while concentrating biomarkers of interest. Due to the specific wavelengths of vibrations used to create these whirlpools, they efficiently trap cells, bacteria and other larger bioparticles found in saliva while leaving antibodies and viruses free to flow forward through multiple biosensing chambers.

Created by Tony Jun Huang, the William Bevan Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke, and his Acoustofluidics Lab, they represent the first step in a new single-chip diagnostic prototype that can detect viral RNA and a full spectrum of antibodies to enhance our ability to navigate and neutralize future pandemics.

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CITATION: “Rapid and Comprehensive Detection of Viral Antibodies and Nucleic Acids via Acoustofluidic Integrated Molecular Diagnostics Chip: AIMDx.” Jiao Qian, Jianping Xia, Samantha Chiang, Jessica F. Liu, Ke Li, Feng Li, Fang Wei, Mohammad Aziz, Yong Kim, Vinson Go, James Morizio, Ruoyu Zhong, Ye He, Kaichun Yang, Otto O. Yang, David T. W. Wong, Luke P. Lee, and Tony Jun Huang. Science Advances, 2025.

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