Sensitive detection of pathogens is crucial for early disease diagnosis and quarantine, which is of tremendous need in controlling severe and fatal illness epidemics such as of Ebola virus (EBOV) disease. Serology assays can detect EBOV‐specific antigens and antibodies cost‐effectively without sophisticated equipment; however, they are less sensitive than reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) tests. Herein, a 3D plasmonic nanoantenna assay sensor is developed as an on‐chip immunoassay platform for ultrasensitive detection of Ebola virus (EBOV) antigens. The EBOV sensor exhibits substantial fluorescence intensity enhancement in immunoassays compared to flat gold substrate. The nanoantenna‐based biosensor successfully detects EBOV soluble glycoprotein (sGP) in human plasma down to 220 fg mL−1, a significant 240 000‐fold sensitivity improvement compared to the 53 ng mL−1 EBOV antigen detection limit of the existing rapid EBOV immunoassay. In a mock clinical trial, the sensor detects sGP‐spiked human plasma samples at two times the limit of detection with 95.8% sensitivity. The results combined highlight the nanosensor's extraordinary capability of detecting EBOV antigen at ultralow concentration compared to existing immunoassay methods. It is a promising next‐generation bioassay platform for early‐stage disease diagnosis and pathogen detection for both public health and national security applications.

Bottom-up self-assembly methods in which individual molecular components self-organize to form functional nanoscale patterns are of long-standing interest in the field of materials sciences. Such self-assembly processes are the hallmark of biology where complex macromolecules with defined functions assemble from smaller molecular components. In particular, plant virus-derived nanoparticles (PVNs) have drawn considerable attention for their unique self-assembly architectures and functionalities that can be harnessed to produce new materials for industrial and biomedical applications. In particular, PVNs provide simple systems to model and assemble nanoscale particles of uniform size and shape that can be modified through molecularly defined chemical and genetic alterations. Furthermore, PVNs bring the added potential to "farm" such bio-nanomaterials on an industrial scale, providing a renewable and environmentally sustainable means for the production of nano-materials. This review outlines the fabrication and application of several PVNs for a range of uses that include energy storage, catalysis, and threat detection.

This paper presents a selective differential sensing method based on diffusion modulation of the target molecules through suspended Tobacco mosaic virus-like particles modified with binding peptides for TNT sensing in solution.

A capillary microfluidics-integrated sensor system is developed for rapid assembly of bionanoreceptor interfaces on-chip and label-free biosensing. Genetically engineered Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) virus-like particles (VLPs), displaying thousands copies of identical receptor peptides FLAG-tags, are utilized as nanoceptors for antibody sensing. Controlled and accelerated assembly of VLP receptor layer on impedance sensor has been achieved using capillary action and surface evaporation from an open-channel capillary microfluidic system. VLPs create a dense and localized receptor monolayer on the impedance sensor using only 5 μL of VLP sample solution (0.2 mg/mL) in only 6 min at room temperature. The VLP-functionalized impedance sensor is capable of label-free detection of target antibodies down to 55 pM concentration within 5 min. These results highlight the significant potentials of an integrated microsystem for rapid and controlled receptor-transducer interface creation and the nanoscale VLP-based sensors for fast, accurate, and decentralized pathogen detection.

This paper presents a comprehensive study of the self-assembly dynamics and the biosensing efficacy of Tobacco mosaic virus-like particle (TMV VLP) sensing probes using an impedimetric microsensor platform. TMV VLPs are high surface area macromolecules with nanorod structures constructed from helical arrangements of thousands of identical coat proteins. Genetically modified TMV VLPs express both surface attachment-promoting cysteine residues and FLAG-tag antibody binding peptides on their coat protein outer surfaces, making them selective biosensing probes with self-assembly capability on sensors. The VLP self-assembly dynamics were studied by the continuous monitoring of impedance changes at 100Hz using interdigitated impedimetric microsensors. Electrical impedance spectroscopy revealed VLP saturation on impedance sensor surface with the coverage of 68% in self-assembly process. The VLP-functionalized impedance sensors responded to 12ng/ml to 1.2μg/ml of target anti-FLAG IgG antibodies in the subsequent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), and yielded 18-35% total impedance increases, respectively. The detection limit of the target antibody is 9.1ng/ml using the VLP-based impedimetric microsensor. These results highlight the significant potential of genetically modified VLPs as selective nanostructured probes for autonomous sensor functionalization and enhanced biosensing.