Electrochemical Biosensors for Early Stage Zika Diagnostics. Issue 4 (April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kaushik, Ajeet; Tiwari, Sneham; Jayant, Rahul D.; Vashist, Arti; Nikkhah-Moshaie, Roozbeh; El-Hage, Nazira; Nair, Madhavan
• Is Part Of: Trends in biotechnology. Volume 35:Issue 4(2017)
• Page Start: 308
• Page End: 317
• Publication Date: 2017-04
• Subjects: electrochemical biosensor -- point-of-care sensing systems -- Zika virus infection; Biotechnology -- Periodicals; Biochemical engineering -- Periodicals; Genetic engineering -- Periodicals; Industrial microbiology -- Periodicals; 660.605
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2016.10.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0167-7799

Abstract

Abstract : Health agencies have declared the recent Zika virus (ZIKV) infection an epidemic and a public health emergency of global concern due to its association with microcephaly and serious neurological disorders. The unavailability of effective drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tools increases the demand for efficient analytical devices to detect ZIKV infection. However, high costs, longer diagnostic times, and stringent expertise requirements limit the utility of reverse transcriptase-PCR methods for rapid diagnostics. Therefore, developing portable, sensitive, selective, and cost-effective sensing systems to detect ZIKV at picomolar concentrations in biofluids would be a breakthrough in diagnostics and therapeutics. This paper highlights the advancements in developing smart sensing strategies to monitor ZIKV progression, with rapid point-of-care diagnostics as the ultimate aim. Trends: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection causes severe health disorders, potentially leading to fatality. There is an urgent need to develop smart sensors to detect ZIKV at the picomolar level to facilitate early disease detection. Nano-enabled electrochemical ZIKV sensing may be a promising approach for rapid and selective ZIKV detection. Miniaturized sensing systems can be developed for the point-of-care (POC) application. The POC detection of ZIKV will enable effective and rapid diagnostics for timely therapeutic intervention.