Nanosensors based on LSPR are able to serologically differentiate dengue from Zika infections

Sci Rep. 2020 Jul 9;10(1):11302. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-68357-9.

Abstract

The Flaviviridae virus family was named after the Yellow-fever virus, and the latin term flavi means "of golden color". Dengue, caused by Dengue virus (DENV), is one of the most important infectious diseases worldwide. A sensitive and differential diagnosis is crucial for patient management, especially due to the occurrence of serological cross-reactivity to other co-circulating flaviviruses. This became particularly important with the emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) in areas were DENV seroprevalence was already high. We developed a sensitive and specific diagnostic test based on gold nanorods (GNR) functionalized with DENV proteins as nanosensors. These were able to detect as little as one picogram of anti-DENV monoclonal antibodies and highly diluted DENV-positive human sera. The nanosensors could differentiate DENV-positive sera from other flavivirus-infected patients, including ZIKV, and were even able to distinguish which DENV serotype infected individual patients. Readouts are obtained in ELISA-plate spectrophotometers without the need of specific devices.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Viral / blood
  • Biosensing Techniques / methods*
  • Brazil
  • Cohort Studies
  • Dengue / diagnosis*
  • Dengue / virology
  • Gold / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance / methods*
  • Viral Envelope Proteins / immunology
  • Zika Virus Infection / diagnosis*
  • Zika Virus Infection / virology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Viral Envelope Proteins
  • Gold