Media report on efforts to develop membrane to capture coronavirus-containing droplets
News Center Maine, Business Insider and FOX 22/WFVX Bangor reported that University of Maine and University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers are exploring how to detect and analyze airborne coronavirus droplets using a bioengineered membrane. The team, led by UMaine biomedical engineer Caitlin Howell and UMass Amherst chemical engineer Jessica Schiffman, seeks to develop a membrane that can be used as an insert in air filtration systems to capture virus-containing droplets, according to the report. “We have this expertise,” Howell said. “When we work together, we can do something that nobody else can do, and so we’re here stepping up trying to help our communities.” SciTechDaily wrote that the research to detect and analyze airborne coronavirus droplets using a bioengineered membrane gets its inspiration from nature — the pitcher plant, with its liquid membrane that traps insects.