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Proof of Concept for a Quick and Highly Sensitive On-Site Detection of SARS-CoV-2 by Plasmonic Optical Fibers and Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

Authors :
Francesco Di Marzo
Eva Maria Parisio
Chiara Perri
Nunzio Cennamo
Francesco Arcadio
Girolamo D'Agostino
Chiara Vettori
Luigi Zeni
Rosario Cennamo
Guido Chiaretti
Giulio Camarlinghi
Giovanni Porto
Cennamo, N.
D'Agostino, G.
Perri, C.
Arcadio, F.
Chiaretti, G.
Parisio, E. M.
Camarlinghi, G.
Vettori, C.
Di Marzo, F.
Cennamo, R.
Porto, G.
Zeni, L.
Source :
Sensors, Volume 21, Issue 5, Sensors, Vol 21, Iss 1681, p 1681 (2021), Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2021.

Abstract

The rapid spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pathogen has generated a huge international public health emergency. Currently the reference diagnostic technique for virus determination is Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) real time analysis that requires specialized equipment, reagents and facilities and typically 3–4 h to perform. Thus, the realization of simple, low-cost, small-size, rapid and point-of-care diagnostics tests has become a global priority. In response to the current need for quick, highly sensitive and on-site detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in several aqueous solutions, a specific molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) receptor has been designed, realized, and combined with an optical sensor. More specifically, the proof of concept of a SARS-CoV-2 sensor has been demonstrated by exploiting a plasmonic plastic optical fiber sensor coupled with a novel kind of synthetic MIP nano-layer, especially designed for the specific recognition of Subunit 1 of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. First, we have tested the effectiveness of the developed MIP receptor to bind the Subunit 1 of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, then the results of preliminary tests on SARS-CoV-2 virions, performed on samples of nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs in universal transport medium (UTM) and physiological solution (0.9% NaCl), were compared with those obtained with RT-PCR. According to these preliminary results, the sensitivity of the proposed optical-chemical sensor proved to be higher than the RT-PCR one. Furthermore, a relatively fast response time (about 10 min) to the virus was obtained without the use of additional reagents.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
14248220
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Sensors
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....f8c9fc569de1e630fd2853b98fef8b33
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/s21051681