Our guest speaker, Gustaf Rydell, researcher at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, will describe how they have used QCM-D to study the interaction between virus particles and membrane associated glycolipids. Attachment to the plasma membrane is an important step initiating viral infection of a target cell as illustrated by norovirus. This virus causes the winter vomiting disease and binds to ABO blood group active carbohydrates that are absent in 20% of the population in northern Europe. These so-called secretor negative individuals are therefore resistant to infections with the most common strains of the virus. He will describe how they have studied the binding process of the virus using QCM-D and other techniques to understand how norovirus initiates infection. He will also describe studies they have done with other viruses and present some current research topics to discuss what information biosensors could provide.
