Innovative Technique Reveals 'Sound' of Viruses

Michigan State University researchers are using ultrafast spectroscopy to analyze the dynamics of viruses at the molecular level. Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, introduces a technique called BioSonic spectroscopy. This method uses short pulses of light to initiate and probe coherent motion in biological systems, allowing the team to capture the vibrational frequencies of viruses.

According to the team, Every type of system has a natural vibrational frequency, whether it's a star or a biological entity like a virus. You can think of it as the sound the material has, whereby all the atoms vibrate together like balls connected by a complex network of springs.

The research team discovered that viruses produce unique acoustic signatures in the gigahertz region, which are thousands to millions of times lower in energy than typical optical spectroscopy frequencies. These signatures can potentially be used to identify and track viruses without the need for labeling.

One significant finding was the ability to observe changes in a virus's acoustic signature as it ruptures. "As the virus begins to break open and weaken, its acoustics start to change, going lower—almost like a deflating balloon," senior author Elad Harel notes.

The technique shows promise for various applications, including drug development and biological threat detection. Harel's team is exploring ways to use this method to observe viral life cycles and assess the effectiveness of antivirals.

Yaqing Zhang, the study's first author, expressed confidence in the technique's potential: "I am confident that this technique can be widely utilized for millions of viruses and other biological samples and will acquire more invaluable information from them. The more we know them, the better we can prepare for the next pandemic."