Optical Biosensors for Diagnostics of Infectious Viral Disease: A Recent Update

Abstract

The design and development of biosensors, analytical devices used to detect various analytes in different matrices, has emerged. Biosensors indicate a biorecognition element with a physicochemical analyzer or detector, i.e., a transducer. In the present scenario, various types of biosensors have been deployed in healthcare and clinical research, for instance, biosensors for blood glucose monitoring. Pathogenic microbes are contributing mediators of numerous infectious diseases that are becoming extremely serious worldwide. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 is one of the most recent examples of such communal and deadly diseases. In efforts to work towards the efficacious treatment of pathogenic viral contagions, a fast and precise detection method is of the utmost importance in biomedical and healthcare sectors for early diagnostics and timely countermeasures. Among various available sensor systems, optical biosensors offer easy-to-use, fast, portable, handy, multiplexed, direct, real-time, and inexpensive diagnosis with the added advantages of specificity and sensitivity. Many progressive concepts and extremely multidisciplinary approaches, including microelectronics, microelectromechanical systems (MEMSs), nanotechnologies, molecular biology, and biotechnology with chemistry, are used to operate optical biosensors. A portable and handheld optical biosensing device would provide fast and reliable results for the identification and quantitation of pathogenic virus particles in each sample. In the modern day, the integration of intelligent nanomaterials in the developed devices provides much more sensitive and highly advanced sensors that may produce the results in no time and eventually help clinicians and doctors enormously. This review accentuates the existing challenges engaged in converting laboratory research to real-world device applications and optical diagnostics methods for virus infections. The review’s background and progress are expected to be insightful to the researchers in the sensor field and facilitate the design and fabrication of optical sensors for life-threatening viruses with broader applicability to any desired pathogens.

Device Processing Challenges for Miniaturized Sensing Systems Targeting Biological Fluids

“…Recently, Sharma et al [ 43 ] described the main advantages of the optical sensors for biomolecules detection. Whereas conventional detection methods e.g.…”

“…Whereas conventional detection methods e.g. enzyme antibody, PCR assay or immunofluorescence microscopy, can last for several hours or even days [ 43 ], optical detection methods can deliver results much quicker [ 44 ].…”

Electrochemical Biosensor Based on Laser-Induced Graphene for COVID-19 Diagnosing: Rapid and Low-Cost Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Biomarker Antibodies

“…In an attempt to overcome these restrictions, several point-of-care (POC) devices have been developed, offering rapid and decentralized clinical diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 through Diagnostic on Chip (DoC) platforms, such as electrochemical and optical detection devices [17]. These biosensors are able to combine, in a single step, sample preparation, reaction and detection on a miniaturized chip, requiring small sample volumes, with high sensitivity, low detection limit and fast analysis [13,18,19]. Furthermore, these devices allow the assay to be performed at the site (or close to the patient) and detect pathological agents employing a biomimetic or biologically derived recognition element during a (bio)chemical reaction.…”

“…Thus, the electrochemical mechanism offers an excellent ability to discriminate small changes during the recognition event on the surface of the system, significantly reducing the cost (of the requirement of multiple antibodies present in other tests) and the time (of the labeling procedures), while in some cases, optical sensing devices require specific light coupled to the sensing platform, which limits its application as a POC device. Moreover, as the target analytes of biofluids are normally present in a matrix of substances, the overlapping of spectral lines limits the identification of substances, making necessary the use active of dyes as markers [3,14,18,19].…”

A high-throughput single-particle imaging platform for antibody characterization and a novel competition assay for therapeutic antibodies

“…Biosensors have been shown to provide rapid and sensitive platforms for virus detection using a variety of transduction mechanisms and became ideal candidates for rapid viral diagnostics due to their ease of use, portability and miniaturization through micro uidic and microarray technologies. 3,4 One such biosensor platform, developed by our group and termed as Single-particle Interferometric Re ectance Imaging Sensor (SP-IRIS), can detect individual viral particles captured on an antibody microarray printed on silicon/silicon dioxide substrates. 5,6 Recent micro uidic integration advanced SP-IRIS to a sensitive, real-time immunoassay platform through disposable cartridges, making SP-IRIS a promising tool for point-of-care diagnostics.…”