Rapid detection of viruses using electrical biochips and anti-virion sera

Abstract

Rapid detection and quantification of viruses is crucial in clinical practice, veterinary medicine, agriculture, basic research as well as in biotechnological factories. However, although various techniques were described and are currently used, development of more rapid, more sensitive and quantitative methods seems to be still important. Here we describe a method for rapid detection of viruses (using bacteriophages as model viruses), based on electrical biochip array technology with the use of antibodies against capsid proteins. Using the procedure developed in this work, we were able to detect 2 x 10(4) virions on the chip. The whole assay procedure takes c. 50 min and the assay is quantitative. This procedure may be useful in various approaches, including detection of bacteriophage contamination in bioreactors and possibly detection of toxin gene-bearing phages or other viruses in food samples.