Quartz crystal microbalance-based biosensors as rapid diagnostic devices for infectious diseases

Abstract

Infectious diseases are the ever-present threats to public health and the global economy. Accurate and timely diagnosis is crucial to impede the progression of a disease and break the chain of transmission. Conventional diagnostic techniques are typically time-consuming and costly, making them inefficient for early diagnosis of infections and inconvenient for use at the point of care. Developments of sensitive, rapid, and affordable diagnostic methods are necessary to improve the clinical management of infectious diseases. Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) systems have emerged as a robust biosensing platform due to their label-free mechanism, which allows the detection and quantification of a wide range of biomolecules. The high sensitivity and short detection time offered by QCM-based biosensors are attractive for the early detection of infections and the routine monitoring of disease progression. Herein, the strategies employed in QCM-based biosensors for the detection of infectious diseases are extensively reviewed, with a focus on prevalent diseases for which improved diagnostic techniques are in high demand. The challenges to the clinical application of QCM-based biosensors are highlighted, along with an outline of the future scope of research in QCM-based diagnostics.

Emerging Options for the Diagnosis of Bacterial Infections and the Characterization of Antimicrobial Resistance

“…The frequency of oscillation changes in response to the binding of analytes to the crystal or its functionalized surface (e.g., antibodies) [ 65 ]. QCM sensors have been used to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis , including cells, bacterial antigens, and tuberculosis-associated cytokines [ 66 ]. The results of QCM-based analysis are comparable to those of gold standard techniques, such as Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and PCR, and the target selectivity is higher than those characterized for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and potentiometric biosensors.…”

“…However, complex matrices found in clinical samples frequently result in poor performance when these methods are used to detect analytes in whole blood, serum, and urine samples. Relatively high costs and problems with deliverability to end-users are also factors that limit the potential of QCM sensors for POC applications [ 66 ]. Other mass-based sensors, such as SAW have also been used to detect pathogens.…”

Nanomaterial application in bio/sensors for the detection of infectious diseases

“…Infectious or transmissible diseases are those diseases that can be transmitted by bacteria, viruses, fungus, and parasites[ 1 ]. According to the World Health Organization reports consumption of unsafe foods, that are polluted with harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemical substances leads to 200 types of sickness including cancers, sepias, homoerotic diarrhea, etc.…”

Viscosity Measurement Sensor: A Prototype for a Novel Medical Diagnostic Method Based on Quartz Crystal Resonator

“…Their use as diagnostic tools has been growing by using biological fluids for disease detection, for example: blood [ 19 , 20 , 21 ], urine [ 22 ], and saliva [ 23 ]. An extensive review of studies using QCM for the detection of diseases, such as Influenza, Hepatitis B, Dengue, Malaria, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and tuberculosis, is presented in Reference [ 24 ], with promising initial results. Despite its efficiency and short detection time, this evaluation comprises the crystal electrode’s biofunctionalization to detect the proteins related to the disease, which makes the measurement process complex.…”