Ultra-sensitive and specific detection of pathogenic nucleic acids using composite-excited hyperfine plasma spectroscopy combs sensitized by Au nanoarrays functionalized with 2D Ta2C-MXene

Abstract

Accurate and rapid screening techniques on a population scale are crucial for preventing and managing epidemics like COVID-19. The standard gold test for nucleic acids in pathogenic infections is primarily the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). However, this method is not suitable for widespread screening due to its reliance on large-scale equipment and time-consuming extraction and amplification processes. Here, we developed a collaborative system that combines high-load hybridization probes targeting N and OFR1a with Au NPs@Ta2C-M modified gold-coated tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) sensors to enable direct nucleic acid detection. Multiple activation sites of SARS-CoV-2 were saturable modified on the surface of a homogeneous arrayed AuNPs@Ta2C-M/Au structure based on a segmental modification approach. The combination of hybrid probe synergy and composite polarisation response in the excitation structure results in highly specific hybridization analysis and excellent signal transduction of trace target sequences. The system demonstrates excellent trace specificity, with a limit of detection of 0.2 pg/mL, and achieves a rapid response time of 1.5 min for clinical samples without amplification. The results showed high agreement with the RT-PCR test (Kappa index = 1). And the gradient-based detection of 10-in-1 mixed samples exhibits high-intensity interference immunity and excellent trace identification. Therefore, the proposed synergistic detection platform has a good tendency to curb the global spread of epidemics such as COVID-19.