Biosensors as a future diagnostic approach for COVID-19

Suhad Abbas Abid; Ahmed Ahmed Muneer; Israa M S Al-Kadmy; Anas A Sattar; Amany Magdy Beshbishy; Gaber El-Saber Batiha; Helal F Hetta

doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2021.119117

Biosensors as a future diagnostic approach for COVID-19

Life Sci. 2021 May 15:273:119117. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2021.119117. Epub 2021 Jan 26.

Authors

Suhad Abbas Abid¹, Ahmed Ahmed Muneer², Israa M S Al-Kadmy³, Anas A Sattar⁴, Amany Magdy Beshbishy⁵, Gaber El-Saber Batiha⁶, Helal F Hetta⁷

Affiliations

¹ Branch of microbiology, Department of Biology, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, POX 10244, Baghdad, Iraq.
² Wolfson Nanomaterials & Devices Laboratory, School of Computing, Electronics and Mathematics, Faculty of Science & Engineering, Plymouth University, Devon PL4 8AA, UK; Departmentt of physics, college of science, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq.. Electronic address: ahmed.suhail@plymouth.ac.uk.
³ Branch of Biotechnology, Department of Biology, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, POX 10244, Baghdad, Iraq; Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK. Electronic address: israaalkadmy@gmail.com.
⁴ School of Biomedical and Healthcare Sciences, Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Plymouth, Devon, UK. Electronic address: anas.sattar@plymouth.ac.uk.
⁵ National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Nishi 2-13, Inada-cho, 080-8555 Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan.
⁶ Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicines, Damanhour University, Damanhour 22511, Egypt.
⁷ Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA. Electronic address: helal.hetta@uc.edu.

Abstract

Biosensors are important devices in clinical diagnostics, food processing, and environmental monitoring for detecting various analytes, especially viruses. These biosensors provide rapid and effective instruments for qualitative and quantitative detection of infectious diseases in real-time. Here, we report the development of biosensors based on various techniques. Additionally, we will explain the mechanisms, advantages, and disadvantages of the most common biosensors that are currently used for viral detection, which could be optical (e.g., surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), Surface plasmon resonance (SPR)) and electrochemical biosensors. Based on that, this review recommends methods for efficient, simple, low-cost, and rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 (the causative agent of COVID-19) that employ the two types of biosensors depending on attaching hemoglobin β-chain and binding of specific antibodies with SARS-CoV-2 antigens, respectively.

Keywords: ACE2 receptors; Bioreceptors; COVID-19; Electrochemical; Rapid detection; SARS-CoV-2; SPR; Spike proteins; Viral biosensor.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Biosensing Techniques / instrumentation
Biosensing Techniques / methods*
COVID-19 / diagnosis*
COVID-19 / virology
COVID-19 Testing / instrumentation
COVID-19 Testing / methods*
Clinical Laboratory Techniques / instrumentation
Clinical Laboratory Techniques / methods
Equipment Design
Humans
SARS-CoV-2 / isolation & purification