Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-caused COVID-19 pandemic has transmitted to humans in practically all parts of the world, producing socio-economic turmoil. There is an urgent need for precise, fast, and affordable diagnostic testing to be widely available for detecting SARS-CoV-2 and its mutations in various phases of the disease. Early diagnosis with great precision has been achieved using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and similar other molecular methods, but theseapproaches are costly and involve rigorous processes that are not easily obtainable. Conversely, immunoassays that detect a small number of antibodies have been employed for quick, low-cost tests, but their efficiency in diagnosing infected people has been restricted. The use of biosensors in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 is vital for the COVID-19 pandemic’s control. This review gives an overview of COVID-19 diagnostic approaches that are currently being developed as well as nanomaterial-based biosensor technologies, to aid future technological advancement and innovation. These approaches can be integrated into point-of-care (POC) devices to quickly identify a large number of infected patients and asymptomatic carriers. The ongoing research endeavors and developments in complementary technologies will play a significant role in curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and fill the knowledge gaps in current diagnostic accuracy and capacity.Graphical abstract
Highlights
Chinese doctors first noticed a pneumonia disease caused by a new type of coronavirus in Wuhan city, China, in December 2019 [1]
Advancement and implementation of viable technologies for SARS-CoV-2 molecular, immunologic, and biosensorbased tests for precise diagnosis of individuals infected with the SARS-CoV-2 is crucial to control the pandemic of COVID-19
The existing real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR)-based diagnostic tests have some limitations, as they miss some cases of infection if performed inaccurately
Summary
Chinese doctors first noticed a pneumonia disease caused by a new type of coronavirus in Wuhan city, China, in December 2019 [1]. The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay targeting the RNA of SARS-CoV-2 is presently the gold standard diagnostic approach for COVID-19 detection [8, 9]. The SHERLOCK technology based on CRISPR/Cas13a integrated with isothermal amplification for SARS-CoV-2 detection has been reported [92], evaluated in clinical settings [93], and authorized by the US FDA for urgent COVID-19 applications [94] This strategy was validated into a simplified STOPCovid test using nasopharyngeal swabs from COVID-19 patients [94]. An immunoassay is a diagnostic test that can measure current or previous viral infection utilizing antigen-antibody interactions, either by utilizing monoclonal antibodies to detect viral antigens in clinical samples or by utilizing cloned viral antigens to recognize patient antibodies directed against the virus These antibodies are present in patients who have recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection and exist in blood, tissues, and other biomarkers throughout the body [96]. Each approach has its own set of benefits and downsides, so we may pick and choose the most suitable method to optimize our test for COVID-19 diagnostics
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