Applications of gold nanoparticles in virus detection

Draz, Mohamed Shehata; Shafiee, Hadi

Viruses are remarkable pathogens that are causing prominently increasing morbidity and mortality worldwide. Their highly contagious nature and the absence of immediate and efficient control systems are the main reasons behind their potential health impacts. Currently, viral infections and associated diseases are major causes of death in mankind, and under the present context of industrialization and immigration, they continue to emerge at a rapid pace, causing significant human, social, and financial costs [1] . Additionally, gaps in currently applied detection systems potentially contribute to increasing the likelihood of international incidences and outbreak of viral infections [2] [3] [4] [5] . The implementation of highly sensitive and specific diagnostic tools has the potential to rapidly identify viral infections, initiate and guide judicious controls, and subsequently curtail their dissemination. Toward this endeavor and beyond the pitfalls of current immunological and molecular techniques commonly applied to virus detection, several new approaches based on nanoparticles (NPs) have recently been developed. AuNPs are widely described to be suitable for numerous biosensing functions and applications. Their unique photonic, electric, and catalytic properties, coupled with the molecular interaction specificity of various biomolecules (e.g., antibodies, single-stranded (ss) DNA, and RNA aptamers, among others), represent the design principles of a wide range of virus detection systems [6] [7] [8] . The advantages of being simple, rapid, and sensitive and facilitating quantitative detection with excellent multiplexing capabilities have greatly promoted these systems to be envisioned as state-of-the-art technologies for virus Ivyspring International Publisher detection [9, 10] . However, there are no available reviews of the applications of bio-AuNP hybrid structures for sensing and detecting viruses. In this article, we provide a current review of AuNP-based virus detection at the level of virus type, including the types and structures of the applied AuNPs. We highlight their role in enhancing sensory and detection performance in comparison with current techniques in terms of analytical sensitivity, detection range, and time. Furthermore, this review specifically summarizes detection designs, formats, functions, and contributions, which are of special importance to both scientific and applied research.