Construction of an Ultrasensitive Molecularly Imprinted Virus Sensor Based on an “Explosive” Secondary Amplification Strategy for the Visual Detection of Viruses

Abstract

Viral outbreaks have caused great disruptions to the economy and public health in recent years. The accurate detection of viruses is a key factor in controlling and overcoming epidemics. In this study, an ultrasensitive molecularly imprinted virus sensor was developed based on an “explosive” secondary amplification strategy. Magnetic particles coated with carbon quantum dots (Fe3O4@CDs) were used as carriers and fluorescent probes, while aptamers were introduced into the imprinting layer to enhance the specific recognition of the target virus enterovirus 71 (EV71). When EV71 was captured by the imprinted particles, the fluorescence of the CDs was quenched, especially after binding to the aptamer-modified ZIF-8 loaded with a large amount of phenolphthalein, thereby resulting in signal amplification. Then, when adjusting the pH of the solution to 12, the decomposition of ZIF-8 released phenolphthalein, which turned the solution red, leading to the second “explosive” amplification of the signal. Therefore, the detection of EV71 with ultrasensitivity was achieved, which allows for visual detection by the naked eye in the absence of any instruments. The detection limits for fluorescence and visualization detection were 8.33 fM and 2.08 pM, respectively. In addition, a satisfactory imprinting factor of 5.4 was achieved, and the detection time only needed 20 min. It is expected that this fluorescence-colorimetric dual-mode virus molecularly imprinted sensor will show excellent prospects in epidemic prevention and rapid clinical diagnosis.

Recent Development and Applications of Sensors for the Detection of Matrix Metalloproteinases

“…As a result, the development of dual-mode sensing platforms has attracted increasing attention in the last three years. A number of dual-mode sensors have been developed for bioassay, including fluorescence/colorimetric, [150][151][152] fluorescence/MS, [153] PAI/MRI, [154,155] and fluorescence/ SERS [156,157] analyses, and the advances in the development of dual-mode sensors in the last three years are summarized in this section.…”

State‐of‐the‐art molecular imprinted colorimetric sensors and their on‐site inspecting applications

“…Tang et al. developed an ultra‐sensitive molecularly imprinted virus sensor [29], which can detect viral concentration via two signals, namely, fluorescence and visible light, as shown in Figure 4. The sensor incorporates nucleic acid aptamers into the MIP to enhance the specific recognition of the target virus, namely, enterovirus 71.…”

“…In recent years, virus outbreaks have caused enormous economic and public health damage, and the accurate detection of the virus is a key factor in controlling and defeating the outbreak. Tang et al developed an ultrasensitive molecularly imprinted virus sensor [29], which can detect viral concentration via two signals, namely, fluorescence and visible light, as shown in Figure 4. The sensor incorporates nucleic acid aptamers into the MIP to enhance the specific recognition of the target virus, namely, enterovirus 71.…”

Distance-Regulated Photoelectrochemical Sensor “Signal-On” and “Signal-Off” Transitions for the Multiplexed Detection of Viruses Exposed in the Aquatic Environment

“…As nucleic acid detection remains the “gold standard” for virus detection, the development of new methods for PCR-free virus nucleic acid detection has been identified as the key priorities in addressing “major global health challenges”. , In recent years, a series of novel PCR-free virus nucleic acid detection methods have been developed, such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, , mass spectrometry, , fluorescence spectroscopy, , field-effect transistors, and other techniques. , All of these technologies have greatly promoted the development of nucleic acid detection technologies. However, few of these methods have been reported to be applied to the detection of viruses exposed to real environments.…”

“…3,4 However, due to the low recognition sensitivity of biological antibodies, traditional immune antigen analysis methods were difficult to meet the detection requirements for multiple types and low loads of exposed viruses in the aqueous environment. 5,6 Similarly, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based nucleic acid detection methods were equally difficult to satisfy the demand for high-throughput detection of multiplex exposed virus due to their low detection throughput. 7,8 Although multiplex PCR techniques have been developed for the simultaneous detection of multiplex nucleic acid sequences, the competition and interference between primer pairs make them highly susceptible to cross-interference when dealing with complex environmental media.…”