Nanotechnology-Assisted Biosensors for the Detection of Viral Nucleic Acids: An Overview.

The accurate and rapid diagnosis of viral diseases has garnered increasing attention in the field of biosensors. The development of highly sensitive, selective, and accessible biosensors is crucial for early disease detection and preventing mortality. However, developing biosensors optimized for viral disease diagnosis has several limitations, including the accurate detection of mutations. For decades, nanotechnology has been applied in numerous biological fields such as biosensors, bioelectronics, and regenerative medicine. Nanotechnology offers a promising strategy to address the current limitations of conventional viral nucleic acid-based biosensors. The implementation of nanotechnologies, such as functional nanomaterials, nanoplatform-fabrication techniques, and surface nanoengineering, to biosensors has not only improved the performance of biosensors but has also expanded the range of sensing targets. Therefore, a deep understanding of the combination of nanotechnologies and biosensors is required to prepare for sanitary emergencies such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic. In this review, we provide interdisciplinary information on nanotechnology-assisted biosensors. First, representative nanotechnologies for biosensors are discussed, after which this review summarizes various nanotechnology-assisted viral nucleic acid biosensors. Therefore, we expect that this review will provide a valuable basis for the development of novel viral nucleic acid biosensors.

Noble Metal Nanomaterial-Based Biosensors for Electrochemical and Optical Detection of Viruses Causing Respiratory Illnesses.

Noble metal nanomaterials, such as gold, silver, and platinum, have been studied extensively in broad scientific fields because of their unique properties, including superior conductivity, plasmonic property, and biocompatibility. Due to their unique properties, researchers have used them to fabricate biosensors. Recently, biosensors for detecting respiratory illness-inducing viruses have gained attention after the global outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In this mini-review, we discuss noble metal nanomaterials and associated biosensors for detecting respiratory illness-causing viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, using electrochemical and optical detection techniques. this review will provide interdisciplinary knowledge about the application of noble metal nanomaterials to the biomedical field.