Detection of COVID-19-related biomarkers by electrochemical biosensors and potential for diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of the course of the disease in the context of personalized medicine

Abstract

As a more efficient and effective way to address disease diagnosis and intervention, cutting-edge technologies, devices, therapeutic approaches, and practices have emerged within the personalized medicine concept depending on the particular patient's biology and the molecular basis of the disease. Personalized medicine is expected to play a pivotal role in assessing disease risk or predicting response to treatment, understanding a person's health status, and, therefore, health care decision-making. This work discusses electrochemical biosensors for monitoring multiparametric biomarkers at different molecular levels and their potential to elucidate the health status of an individual in a personalized manner. In particular, and as an illustration, we discuss several aspects of the infection produced by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as a current health care concern worldwide. This includes SARS-CoV-2 structure, mechanism of infection, biomarkers, and electrochemical biosensors most commonly explored for diagnostics, prognostics, and potentially assessing the risk of complications in patients in the context of personalized medicine. Finally, some concluding remarks and perspectives hint at the use of electrochemical biosensors in the frame of other cutting-edge converging/emerging technologies toward the inauguration of a new paradigm of personalized medicine.

Keywords: Biomarkers; COVID-19; Electrochemical biosensor; Personalized medicine; SARS-CoV-2.

Fig. 1

Structure of SARS-CoV-2, formed mainly by the genetic material (RNA) and the four structural proteins, i.e., N, E, M, and S proteins. Modified from reference [35]

Fig. 2

Overview of the present and future of COVID-19-associated biomarker detection. Briefly, precision medicine of COVID-19 can be achieved by (a) diagnosing infection from the detection of genetic material, structural proteins, and IgG and IgM antibodies, and (b) detecting inflammatory [C-reactive protein (CrP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), procalcitonin (PCT), ferritin (FT)], hematological [lymphocyte count (L), neutrophil count (N), N/L ratio (NLR)], and biochemical [D-dimer, cardiac troponin (cTn), creatine kinase (CK), vitamin D] biomarkers that predict disease prognosis, progression, and severity. In addition, moving from conventional detection to using (c) different robust commercial detection kits requiring specialized equipment and personnel to (d) a single multiparametric device based on sensitive, specific and portable nanobiosensors [48, 49]

Fig. 3

Components of a biosensor. The first component is the detection system that includes the transducer that can be modified with different nanomaterials and biological receptors to obtain high sensitivity and specificity. In some cases, it can also have amplification systems. The second component is the amplification and processing system for data visualization and analysis. This equipment can be portable and can have the capacity to analyze multiple samples at the same time. The sample can come from cell cultures, patients, food, or an environmental matrix and contains the analyte of interest. Modified from reference [177]

Fig. 4

Multilevel detection of SARS-CoV-2 with (a) electrochemical immunosensor based on magnetic beads and the spike-ACE2 complex [22], (b) first peptide-based impedimetric biosensor [21] for protein S detection, and (c) electrochemical genosensor based on magnetic beads for RNA detection [23]. Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2022, Elsevier B.V.

Fig. 5

Graphene-based RapidPlex multiplexed electrochemical platform for detecting nucleocapsid protein, IgG and IgM immunoglobulins, and CrP [48]. Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2022, Elsevier B.V.