Enzyme-Assisted Nucleic Acid Detection for Infectious Disease Diagnostics: Moving toward the Point-of-Care

Abstract

Driven by complex and interconnected factors, including population growth, climate change, and geopolitics, infectious diseases represent one of the greatest healthcare challenges of the 21st century. Diagnostic technologies are the first line of defense in the fight against infectious disease, providing critical information to inform epidemiological models, track diseases, decide treatment choices, and ultimately prevent epidemics. The diagnosis of infectious disease at the genomic level using nucleic acid disease biomarkers has proven to be the most effective approach to date. Such methods rely heavily on enzymes to specifically amplify or detect nucleic acids in complex samples, and significant effort has been exerted to harness the power of enzymes for in vitro nucleic acid diagnostics. Unfortunately, significant challenges limit the potential of enzyme-assisted nucleic acid diagnostics, particularly when translating diagnostic technologies from the lab toward the point-of-use or point-of-care. Herein, we discuss the current state of the field and highlight cross-disciplinary efforts to solve the challenges associated with the successful deployment of this important class of diagnostics at or near the point-of-care.

RNA-extraction-free nano-amplified colorimetric test for point-of-care clinical diagnosis of COVID-19

“…Therefore, the rapid identification of specific NA has enormous potential in disease diagnosis and management 3 . One of the most common applications of NA detection is molecular-based diagnostic tests or NA testing for the diagnosis of various infectious diseases caused by different microbes and pathogens [4][5][6][7] .…”

Diagnostic Performance of a Magnetic Field-Enhanced Agglutination Readout in Detecting Either Viral Genomes or Host Antibodies in Arbovirus Infection

“…These limitations diminish their utility, in particular within resource-limited countries. In this context, the transition toward point-of-care systems has been highlighted as a priority for improving testing of infectious diseases [ 24 ]. Magnetic particles have been included in numerous optical or electrochemical biosensing technologies for lowering detection limits and nonspecific effects [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”

Translating daily COVID-19 screening into a simple glucose test: a proof of concept study

“…28,29 Although promising, the user-friendliness and cost of these devices cannot fulfill the critical requirements of home self-testing, limiting their marketability. 30 Therefore, developing and commercializing a single device with required sensitivity and specificity, versatility and adaptability for diverse targets, lowcost and portability, and more importantly amenable for selftesting, remains an unmet need that currently available diagnostic approaches cannot provide. 31,32 The portable glucose meter (PGM) is arguably the most widely available POC device on the market with several features of good portability and usability, low cost, and reliable quantitative results with connectivity to mHealth networks.…”