Fluorescent detection of emerging virus based on nanoparticles: From synthesis to application

Abstract

The spread of COVID-19 has caused huge economic losses and irreversible social impact. Therefore, to successfully prevent the spread of the virus and solve public health problems, it is urgent to develop detection methods with high sensitivity and accuracy. However, existing detection methods are time-consuming, rely on instruments, and require skilled operators, making rapid detection challenging to implement. Biosensors based on fluorescent nanoparticles have attracted interest in the field of detection because of their advantages, such as high sensitivity, low detection limit, and simple result readout. In this review, we systematically describe the synthesis, intrinsic advantages, and applications of organic dye-doped fluorescent nanoparticles, metal nanoclusters, up-conversion particles, quantum dots, carbon dots, and others for virus detection. Furthermore, future research initiatives are highlighted, including green production of fluorescent nanoparticles with high quantum yield, speedy signal reading by integrating with intelligent information, and error reduction by coupling with numerous fluorescent nanoparticles.

Keywords: Detection; Emerging virus; Fluorescence nanoparticles; Fluorometric sensors; Public health.

Fig. 1

COVID-19 deaths by region and country. The data source: World Health Organization (WHO).

Fig. 2

Schematic illustration for fluorescent detection of emerging virus based on nanoparticles.

Fig. 3

The design of different fluorescent nanoparticles and their commonly used precursor materials.

Fig. 4

The application of organic dye-doped fluorescent nanoparticles in virus detection. (a) organic dye-doped fluorescent nanoparticles, (b) AIEgen-doped fluorescent nanoparticles, (c) near-infrared dye-doped fluorescent nanoparticles.

Fig. 5

The application of metal nanoclusters in virus detection. (a) Metal NCs based on ECL, (b) Blosensing based on Metal NCs.

Fig. 6

The application of up-conversion particles in virus detection. (a) fluorescent labeling, (b) energy transfer, (c) two-dimensional encoding.

Fig. 7

The application of quantum dots in virus detection. (a) Immune magnetic separation-QD fluoroimmunoassay, (b) QD-based lateral-flow assay, (c) QD-based biosensors.

Fig. 8

The application of carbon dots in virus detection. (a) CDs-based optical biosensor, (b) CDs-based electrochemiluminescent sensors, (c) Other biosensors.