Recent Developments in Nanotechnology-Based Biosensors for the Diagnosis of Coronavirus

Abstract

The major challenge in today's world is that medical research is facing the existence of a vast number of viruses and their mutations, which from time to time cause outbreaks. Also, the continuous and spontaneous mutations occurring in the viruses and the emergence of resistant virus strains have become serious medical hazards. So, in view of the growing number of diseases, like the recent COVID-19 pandemic that has caused the deaths of millions of people, there is a need to improve rapid and sensitive diagnostic strategies to initiate timely treatment for such conditions. In the cases like COVID-19, where a real cure due to erratic and ambiguous signs is not available, early intervention can be life-saving. In the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries, nanotechnology has evolved exponentially and can overcome multiple obstacles in the treatment and diagnosis of diseases. Nanotechnology has developed exponentially in the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields and can overcome numerous challenges in the treatment and diagnosis of diseases. At the nano stage, the molecular properties of materials such as gold, silver, carbon, silica, and polymers get altered and can be used for the creation of reliable and accurate diagnostic techniques. This review provides insight into numerous diagnostic approaches focused on nanoparticles that could have been established for quick and early detection of such diseases.

Keywords: COVID-19; Diagnostic approach; SARS-CoV; Viral diagnostics.

Fig. 1

Representative 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional structures of coronaviruses

Fig. 2

Some traditional diagnostics methods for coronaviruses

Fig. 3

Applications of nanoparticles in coronavirus diagnosis (created using biorender.com)

Fig. 4

Gold nanoparticles-based flow strips for detection of COVID-19 antigens/antibody

Fig. 5

Schematic representation of the actions exerted by QDs on SARS‐CoV‐2. QD, quantum dot; S protein, spike protein; SARS‐CoV‐2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2