A comparison of conventional and advanced electroanalytical methods to detect SARS-CoV-2 virus: A concise review

Abstract

Respiratory viruses are a serious threat to human wellbeing that can cause pandemic disease. As a result, it is critical to identify virus in a timely, sensitive, and precise manner. The present novel coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) disease outbreak has increased these concerns. The research of developing various methods for COVID-19 virus identification is one of the most rapidly growing research areas. This review article compares and addresses recent improvements in conventional and advanced electroanalytical approaches for detecting COVID-19 virus. The popular conventional methods such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), serology test, and computed tomography (CT) scan with artificial intelligence require specialized equipment, hours of processing, and specially trained staff. Many researchers, on the other hand, focused on the invention and expansion of electrochemical and/or bio sensors to detect SARS-CoV-2, demonstrating that they could show a significant role in COVID-19 disease control. We attempted to meticulously summarize recent advancements, compare conventional and electroanalytical approaches, and ultimately discuss future prospective in the field. We hope that this review will be helpful to researchers who are interested in this interdisciplinary field and desire to develop more innovative virus detection methods.

Keywords: Detection; Electrochemical biosensor; Modified electrode; Point of care; Polymerase chain reaction; SARS-CoV-2.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

Number of COVID-19 cases and deaths reported weekly to the World Health Organization (WHO). The number of affected cases globally reached over 539.8 million, with over 6.32 million deaths till June 23, 2022. Source gathered from the website of World Health Organization (WHO) on June 23, 2022 (https://covid19.who.int/).

Fig. 2

(A) Schematic representing the structure and morphology of SARS-CoV-2. (B) The life cycle of SARS-CoV-2 virus in human lung cells. (C) The most common symptoms of COVID-19 according to the WHO. [(A) Reproduced with permission from Ref. (Chauhan et al., 2020), Copyright 2020, American Chemical Society. (B) and (C) Reproduced with permission from Ref. (El-Aziz and Stockand, 2020), Copyright 2020, Elsevier B. V.].

Fig. 3

Procedure of the detection to SARS-CoV-2 with PCR. [Reproduced with permission from Ref. (Dong et al., 2021), Copyright 2021, Elsevier B. V.].

Fig. 4

The comparison of reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) with RT-PCR. Reproduced with permission from Ref. (Augustine et al., 2020). Copyright 2020, by the authors, licensee MDPI, Basel.

Fig. 5

(A) Schematic diagram of the detection device. (B) An illustration of different testing results; C- control line, G- IgG line; M − IgM line. IgG-immunoglobulin G; IgM-immunoglobulin M. Reproduced with permission from Ref. (Li et al., 2020c), Copyright 2020, the authors. Journal of Medical Virology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Fig. 6

Electrochemical (bio) sensors using different electroanalytical methods (amperometry, potentiometry and impedance methods) for target analyte sensing and its concentration determination. [Adopted from Ref. (Bobrinetskiy et al., 2021), Copyright 2021, by the authors, Licensee MDPI, Basel].

Fig. 7

(A) COVID-19 diagnostics principle by nconNP sensor analyzing the samples prepared from nasopharyngeal swab specimens of patients. (B) Schematic representation of the operational principle of the COVID-19 electrochemical sensing platform. [(A) Reproduced with permission from Ref. (Raziq et al., 2021), Copyright 2021, Elsevier B. V. (B) Reproduced with permission from Ref. (Alafeef et al., 2020), Copyright 2020, American Chemical Society].

Fig. 8

(A) The operating principle of ncovS1 sensor in COVID-19 diagnosis: a) redox probe readily carrying the charge through ncovS1-MIP producing current I₀, b) the rebound ncovS1 blocks pathways for redox probe to carry the charge through ncovS1-MIP leading to a concentration dependent contraction in the recorded current I. (B) Reagent-free sensing of viral particles using an electrochemical approach monitoring the kinetics of transport for a DNA–antibody complex. Sensor complexation with the SARS-CoV-2 viral particles. The sensor will undergo a large change in hydrodynamic diameter in the presence of the spike protein and a viral particle, which would then influence the time required for the sensor to contact the electrode surface. (C) Schematic representation of the RAPID diagnosis process. [(A) Reproduced with permission from Ref. (Ayankojo et al., 2022), Copyright 2021, the authors. Published by Elsevier B. V. (B) Reproduced with permission from Ref. (Yousefi et al., 2021), Copyright 2021, American Chemical Society. (C) Reproduced with permission from Ref. (Torres et al., 2021), Copyright 2021, Elsevier Inc.].

Fig. 9

Design of the SPEEDS platform for detection of IgG and IgM antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in human serum. (a) Schematic illustration of the SPEEDS platform and its application scenarios. The platform includes an electrochemical immunosensor and a handheld potentiostat. CE: counter electrode, WE: working electrode, and RE: reference electrode. The potentiostat can transmit testing results to a cell phone. (b) Schematic illustration of surface functionalization of the WE with biotinylated RBD protein as the capture probe. (c) Schematic illustration of capturing anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG or IgM on the WE and subsequently labelling it with ALP-conjugated detection antibody. (d) Oxidation of the electrochemical substrate (pAPP) during chronoamperometry (CA) and production of the CA current. [Reproduced with permission from Ref. (Peng et al., 2022), Copyright 2021, Elsevier B. V.].

Fig. 10

(A) Schematic of the step-by-step preparation of biodevice. a) bare SPCE; b) electrodeposition of Ni(OH)₂ NPs on the SPCE surface; c) Immobilization of spike protein on the Ni(OH)₂ NPs/SPCE surface; d) Immobilization of BSA on the spike protein/Ni(OH)₂ NPs/SPCE surface and e) Immobilization of IgG or IgM on the BSA/spike protein/Ni(OH)₂ NPs/SPCE surface. (B) When lgM/lgG antibody is specifically attached to the spike protein, the [Fe(CN)₆]^4−/3− electron-transferring can be disturbed. [Reproduced with permission from Ref. (Rahmati et al., 2021), Copyright 2021, Elsevier B. V.].