Recent advances in immunoassay technologies for the detection of human coronavirus infections

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the seventh coronavirus (CoV) that has spread in humans and has become a global pandemic since late 2019. Efficient and accurate laboratory diagnostic methods are one of the crucial means to control the development of the current pandemic and to prevent potential future outbreaks. Although real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) is the preferred laboratory method recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for diagnosing and screening SARS-CoV-2 infection, the versatile immunoassays still play an important role for pandemic control. They can be used not only as supplemental tools to identify cases missed by rRT-PCR, but also for first-line screening tests in areas with limited medical resources. Moreover, they are also indispensable tools for retrospective epidemiological surveys and the evaluation of the effectiveness of vaccination. In this review, we summarize the mainstream immunoassay methods for human coronaviruses (HCoVs) and address their benefits, limitations, and applications. Then, technical strategies based on bioinformatics and advanced biosensors were proposed to improve the performance of these methods. Finally, future suggestions and possibilities that can lead to higher sensitivity and specificity are provided for further research.

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“…The main traditional immunoassays are the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) [1], enzyme immunoassay [2], immunofluorescence assay [3], and lateral flow immunoassay [4]. However, these methods are only suitable for laboratory diagnosis and analysis and require complex instrumentation and demanding testing operations [5]. To simplify immunoassays, the introduction of biosensors is undoubtedly a good choice.…”

An Electrochemical Immunosensor with PEDOT: PSS/MWCNTs-COOH Nanocomposites as a Modified Working Electrode Material for Detecting Tau-441

“…The electrochemical detection system has been successfully applied to the highly sensitive quantitative analysis of biological samples because of its high sensitivity and simplicity, and low cost [15][16][17][18]. Immunoassay is a method for quantitative analysis by measuring the binding rate of specific recognition sites and has the characteristics of high selectivity, strong specificity, and a low detection limit [19][20][21]. Electrochemical immunoassay is a potential new tool for the rapid and accurate detection and diagnosis of diseases by combining electrochemical detection and immunoassay.…”