A Review on the Development of Gold and Silver Nanoparticles-Based Biosensor as a Detection Strategy of Emerging and Pathogenic RNA Virus

Abstract

The emergence of highly pathogenic and deadly human coronaviruses, namely SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV within the past two decades and currently SARS-CoV-2, have resulted in millions of human death across the world. In addition, other human viral diseases, such as mosquito borne-viral diseases and blood-borne viruses, also contribute to a higher risk of death in severe cases. To date, there is no specific drug or medicine available to cure these human viral diseases. Therefore, the early and rapid detection without compromising the test accuracy is required in order to provide a suitable treatment for the containment of the diseases. Recently, nanomaterials-based biosensors have attracted enormous interest due to their biological activities and unique sensing properties, which enable the detection of analytes such as nucleic acid (DNA or RNA), aptamers, and proteins in clinical samples. In addition, the advances of nanotechnologies also enable the development of miniaturized detection systems for point-of-care (POC) biosensors, which could be a new strategy for detecting human viral diseases. The detection of virus-specific genes by using single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) probes has become a particular interest due to their higher sensitivity and specificity compared to immunological methods based on antibody or antigen for early diagnosis of viral infection. Hence, this review has been developed to provide an overview of the current development of nanoparticles-based biosensors that target pathogenic RNA viruses, toward a robust and effective detection strategy of the existing or newly emerging human viral diseases such as SARS-CoV-2. This review emphasizes the nanoparticles-based biosensors developed using noble metals such as gold (Au) and silver (Ag) by virtue of their powerful characteristics as a signal amplifier or enhancer in the detection of nucleic acid. In addition, this review provides a broad knowledge with respect to several analytical methods involved in the development of nanoparticles-based biosensors for the detection of viral nucleic acid using both optical and electrochemical techniques.

Keywords: biosensor; electrochemical biosensing; nanoparticles; nucleic acid; plasmonic; viral disease.

Figure 1

The schematic figure that represents the different shapes of MNPs (AuNPs or AgNPs) and the use of ligands to stabilize the MNPs. The optical and electrochemical properties of the MNPs have been validated by using the optical and electrochemical sensing techniques.

Figure 2

Schematic illustration of the detection steps of DNA target for the HTLV-1 gene based on the application of carbon dots (CDs) and iron magnetic nanoparticle-capped Au (Fe₃O₄@Au). Both probes A and B were used to hybridize with the target DNA sequence. Reproduced from Zarei-Ghobadi et al. [87].

Figure 3

The diagram represents the formation of (a) complementary sequences of RdRp-COVID and (b) the partially matched sequences of RdRp-SARS. Reproduced from Qiu et al. [92].

Figure 4

Schematic of TP-DMT viral sensing workflow with two types of approaches, which are the amplification-free-based direct viral RNA detection (direct sensing system) and the amplification-based cyclic fluorescence probe cleavage (CFPC) detection. Reproduced from Qiu et al. [94].

Figure 5

The schematic diagram demonstrated the formation of (a) a disulfide-induced interconnection between the AuNPs in the absence of target DNA and (b) disulfide-induced self-assembly in the presence of target DNA with the addition of MgCl₂. Reproduced from Kim et al. [97].

Figure 6

The schematic diagram shows a colorimetric detection that involves the color change of AgNPs. In the presence of target DNA, the AgNPs solution remains yellow (non-aggregated), and in the absence of target DNA, the solution changes to red. Reproduced from Teengam et al. [99].

Figure 7

Schematic diagram showing the one-step sandwich hybridization recognition procedure, which involves a DNA capture probe (pDNA) immobilized on the acrylic microspheres, and target (cDNA) and reporter (rDNA) probes labeled with gold nanoparticle–poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) latex (AuNP–PSA) spheres. Reproduced from Jeningsih et al. [104].

Figure 8

The types of configurations, which involved the (a) direct conjugation of probes to the gold electrode surface and (b) the probes were conjugated to the AuNPs and then deposited at the sensor platform. Reproduced from Alafeef et al. [120].

Figure 9

The illustration diagram represents the detection of target DNA by using a capture probe (SH-DNA) immobilized onto the SPE surface. In the presence of target DNA, the electron transfer is blocked due to the electrostatic repulsion that occurs between the interaction of [Fe(CN)₆]^3−/4− with dsDNA. Reproduced from Ilkhani and Farhad [124].

Figure 10

The schematic diagram that summarizes the development of AuNPs- or AgNPs-based biosensors.