Chapter 3 - Biosensors for virus detection

Abstract

Diseases caused by pathogenic viruses, such as Ebola, Zika, HIV, and SARS-CoV-2, have challenged the world in recent years leading to an urgent need for novel virus diagnostic technologies in medical, sanitation, and food applications. Unlike current technologies, biosensors present an enormous potential to address the demand for sensitive, robust, and cost-effective virus detection tools employing various recognition units such as antibodies, enzymes, peptides, nucleic acids, peptide nucleic acids, and molecularly imprinted polymers to specifically target viral protein, genetic material, or whole virus. These elements are often combined with quantum dots, nanocomposites, metallic nanoparticles, and graphene to enhance the sensing performance. In this chapter, while reviewing the current trends in virus diagnostics, we discuss the working principles of various virus biosensors by focusing on affinity materials, transducer properties, fabrication methods, and nanostructures involved to provide a deep understanding of virus targeting sensor platforms.