Abstract
In this paper, a highly sensitive graphene-based multiple-layer (BK7/Au/PtSe2/Graphene) coated surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor is proposed for the rapid detection of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). The proposed sensor was modeled on the basis of the total internal reflection (TIR) technique for real-time detection of ligand-analyte immobilization in the sensing region. The refractive index (RI) of the sensing region is changed due to the interaction of different concentrations of the ligand-analyte, thus impacting surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) excitation of the multi-layer sensor interface. The performance of the proposed sensor was numerically investigated by using the transfer matrix method (TMM) and the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The proposed SPR biosensor provides fast and accurate early-stage diagnosis of the COVID-19 virus, which is crucial in limiting the spread of the pandemic. In addition, the performance of the proposed sensor was investigated numerically with different ligand-analytes: (i) the monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) as ligand and the COVID-19 virus spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) as analyte, (ii) the virus spike RBD as ligand and the virus anti-spike protein (IgM, IgG) as analyte and (iii) the specific probe as ligand and the COVID-19 virus single-standard ribonucleic acid (RNA) as analyte. After the investigation, the sensitivity of the proposed sensor was found to provide 183.33°/refractive index unit (RIU) in SPR angle (θSPR) and 833.33THz/RIU in SPR frequency (SPRF) for detection of the COVID-19 virus spike RBD; the sensitivity obtained 153.85°/RIU in SPR angle and 726.50THz/RIU in SPRF for detection of the anti-spike protein, and finally, the sensitivity obtained 140.35°/RIU in SPR angle and 500THz/RIU in SPRF for detection of viral RNA. It was observed that whole virus spike RBD detection sensitivity is higher than that of the other two detection processes. Highly sensitive two-dimensional (2D) materials were used to achieve significant enhancement in the Goos-Hänchen (GH) shift detection sensitivity and plasmonic properties of the conventional SPR sensor. The proposed sensor successfully senses the COVID-19 virus and offers additional (1 + 0.55) × L times sensitivity owing to the added graphene layers. Besides, the performance of the proposed sensor was analyzed based on detection accuracy (DA), the figure of merit (FOM), signal-noise ratio (SNR), and quality factor (QF). Based on its performance analysis, it is expected that the proposed sensor may reduce lengthy procedures, false positive results, and clinical costs, compared to traditional sensors. The performance of the proposed sensor model was checked using the TMM algorithm and validated by the FDTD technique.
Highlights
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a newly reported human transferrable virus [1]
The results show the detection accuracy, sensitivity, and superiority of the proposed sensor for the early-stage detection of COVID-19
The CH4 and Ar/H2 gas flow ratio can be maintained by operating the control valve [47]. (ii) The polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) layer can be assisted with a Cu/graphene stack at a spin-coated process for five minutes to transfer the graphene film onto the target substrate. (iii) The Cu foil can be etched by the sulfuric acid (H2SO4) at 25 ◦C. (iv) The developed PMMA/graphene stack can be cleaned in DI water, transferred onto the BK7/Au/PtSe2 substrate, and PMMA can be removed by applying (CH3)2CO
Summary
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a newly reported human transferrable virus [1]. Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein is a vital target in clinical research for the invention of vaccines and the development of detection procedures to reduce the spread of infectious diseases. The SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid test kit is applied clinically to detect the COVID-19 virus but less sensitive than the reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique [14,15]. The motive of the proposed sensor is to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein rapidly without false reports. The proposed sensor can detect the COVID-19 virus spike protein, antibodies against the virus spike protein, and virus single-standard RNA. A five-layer SPR biosensor is proposed for rapid detection of COVID-19 virus and to tackle the lengthy, expensive, false-positive results problems;.
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