Facile biosensors for rapid detection of COVID-19

Lizhou Xu; Danyang Li; Sami Ramadan; Yanbin Li; Norbert Klein

doi:10.1016/j.bios.2020.112673

Facile biosensors for rapid detection of COVID-19

Biosens Bioelectron. 2020 Dec 15:170:112673. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2020.112673. Epub 2020 Oct 1.

Authors

Lizhou Xu¹, Danyang Li², Sami Ramadan³, Yanbin Li⁴, Norbert Klein³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK. Electronic address: l.xu@imperial.ac.uk.
² School of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Sciences, King's College London, 150 Stamford Street, London, SE1 9NH, UK.
³ Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
⁴ Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA.

Abstract

Currently the world is being challenged by a public health emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Extensive efforts in testing for coronavirus infection, combined with isolating infected cases and quarantining those in contact, have proven successful in bringing the epidemic under control. Rapid and facile screening of this disease is in high demand. This review summarises recent advances in strategies reported by international researchers and engineers concerning how to tackle COVID-19 via rapid testing, mainly through nucleic acid- and antibody- testing. The roles of biosensors as powerful analytical tools are emphasized for the detection of viral RNAs, surface antigens, whole viral particles, antibodies and other potential biomarkers in human specimen. We critically review in depth newly developed biosensing methods especially for in-field and point-of-care detection of SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, this review describes possible future strategies for virus rapid detection. It helps researchers working on novel sensor technologies to tailor their technologies in a way to address the challenge for effective detection of COVID-19.

Keywords: Biosensor; COVID-19; Coronavirus; Point-of-care testing; Rapid detection; SARS-CoV-2.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Betacoronavirus / isolation & purification*
Biosensing Techniques* / economics
Biosensing Techniques* / instrumentation
Biosensing Techniques* / methods
COVID-19
COVID-19 Testing
Clinical Laboratory Techniques* / economics
Clinical Laboratory Techniques* / instrumentation
Clinical Laboratory Techniques* / methods
Coronavirus Infections / diagnosis*
Coronavirus Infections / economics
Equipment Design
Humans
Pandemics
Pneumonia, Viral / diagnosis*
Point-of-Care Testing* / economics
SARS-CoV-2
Time Factors