Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus that was first identified in 1947. Initially, the virus was of little concern for health authorities given there were very few casualties among those suffering an infection. As such, only limited studies were performed on ZIKV. Recently, the viral infection has been linked to microcephaly in infants, which has prompted a dramatic increase in scientific interest in ZIKV research, including methods to allow for rapid virus identification. In this work we report the development of a new type of ZIKV electrochemical biosensor based on surface imprinted polymers and graphene oxide composites. The biosensor was used to detect ZIKV by measuring changes in the electrical signal with changing virus concentrations in buffer and serum using standard electrochemical techniques. The detection limit of our method is similar to the detection limit of the real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR method.
Keywords: Zika virus; biosensor; cyclic voltammetry; electrochemical sensor; surface imprinted polymers.