T-Shaped Aptamer-Based LSPR Biosensor Using Ω-Shaped Fiber Optic for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2

Anal Chem. 2023 Jan 17;95(2):1599-1607. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c04709. Epub 2022 Dec 29.

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2, especially the variant strains, is rapidly spreading around the world. Rapid detection methods for the virus are crucial for controlling the COVID-19 epidemic. Herein, a localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR) biosensor based on Ω-shaped fiber optic (Ω-FO) was developed for dual assays of SARS-CoV-2 monitoring. Due to its strong ability to control the orientation and density, a new T-shaped aptamer exhibits enhanced binding affinity toward N proteins. After being combined on the fiber optic surface, the T-shaped aptamer sensitively captured N proteins of SARS-CoV-2 for a direct assay. Further, core-shell structured gold/silver nanoparticles functionalized with a T-shaped aptamer (apt-Ag@AuNPs) can amplify the signal of N protein detection for a sandwich assay. The real-time analytical feature of the dual assays endows time-dependent sensitivity enhancement behavior, which provides a guideline to save analytical time. With those characteristics, the LSPR biosensor has been successfully used to rapidly identify 39 healthy volunteers and 39 COVID-19 patients infected with the ancestral or variant SARS-CoV-2. With the help of simple pretreatment, we obtain a true negative rate of 100% and a true positive rate of 92.3% with a short analysis time of 45 min using the direct assay. Further, the LSPR biosensor could also broaden the detection application range to the surface of cold-chain foods using a sandwich assay. Thus, the LSPR biosensor based on Ω-FO was demonstrated to have broad application potential to detect SARS-CoV-2 rapidly.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biosensing Techniques* / methods
  • COVID-19* / diagnosis
  • Gold
  • Humans
  • Metal Nanoparticles*
  • Oligonucleotides
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Silver
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance / methods

Substances

  • Gold
  • Silver
  • Oligonucleotides