Biosensors for the detection of respiratory viruses: A review

Abstract

The recent events of outbreaks related to different respiratory viruses in the past few years, exponentiated by the pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), reported worldwide caused by SARS-CoV-2, raised a concern and increased the search for more information on viruses-based diseases. The detection of the virus with high specificity and sensitivity plays an important role for an accurate diagnosis. Despite the many efforts to identify the SARS-CoV-2, the diagnosis still relays on expensive and time-consuming analysis. A fast and reliable alternative is the use of low-cost biosensor for in loco detection. This review gathers important contributions in the biosensor area regarding the most current respiratory viruses, presents the advances in the assembly of the devices and figures of merit. All information is useful for further biosensor development for the detection of respiratory viruses, such as for the new coronavirus.

Keywords: Biosensors; Detection; Diagnosis; Respiratory virus.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

A general illustration of a biosensor.

Fig. 2

RNA virus replication in an intracellular space.

Fig. 3

A schematic diagram of the designed triple-arrayed three-electrode immunosensor chip consisting of a top PDMS channel layer and a bottom glass substrate. (a) Top view of immunosensor chip with three different sensing regions for H1N1, H5N1, and H7N9, respectively. (b) Cross sectional view of H5N1 sensor region with ZnO NRs grown on the surface of PDMS and three electrodes aligned to the sensing chamber. Republished from ; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc, License Number 4855350166819.

Fig. 4

AFM images of the sequential binding of GBP-E-SCVme and anti-SCVme on the gold-micropatterned surface. (a) Bare gold surface, (b) binding of the GBP-E-SCVme fusion proteins onto the gold surface, and (c) subsequent binding of the anti-SCVme antibodies on the GBP-E-SCVme layer. Left, schematic diagrams for the successive binding of GBP-E-SCVme and anti-SCVme on the gold micropatterns; middle, three-dimensional topological images; right, the cross-sectional contours of samples a–c, sequentially (these are average height differences of the individual scan lines from each area). Republished from ; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc, License Number 4855350410966.

Fig. 5

The principle of the RSV-aMB E-sensor for RSV DNA detection. Republished from ; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc, License Number 4855350615984.

Fig. 6

Schematic representation of the thin film biosensor. (A) Unreacted thin film biosensor surface with covalently attached capture probe. The surface coating, silicon nitride (Si3N4), appears gold in white light. (B) Surface reacting with target sequence to produce thin film. Target immobilization triggers reactions that enzymatically transduce the formation of hybrids on the surface into molecular thin films causing a change in color from gold to purple. Republished from ; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc, License Number 4876701161684.

Fig. 7

A schematic view of the Epic^Ⓡ biosensor. When the glass substrate is illuminated with broadband light, only a ‘single’ wavelength that is resonant with the waveguide grating structure is strongly reflected. The Epic^Ⓡ system measures the wavelength reflected by the sensor which is determined by the optical properties of the sensing zone within approximately 150 nm of the sensor. The magnitude of this wavelength shift is proportional to the amount of DMR. Republished from ; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc, License Number 4876710020488.