Applications of gold nanoparticles in virus detection

Draz, Mohamed Shehata; Shafiee, Hadi

HCV is one of the leading causes of chronic liver diseases in humans. Approximately 3% of the global population has experienced HCV infection. Currently, there are 170 million chronic carriers, and more than three million new infections occur globally each year [135, 136] . Chronic HCV infection is frequently associated with marked hepatic injuries, including cirrhosis, liver failure or hepatocellular carcinoma. These types of injuries can be very severe and often end in death or liver transplantation [135, 137] . HCV infection is generally resilient and usually requires treatment that combines numerous medications. The most popular treatment regimen for HCV is a combination of PEGylated interferon alfa (PEG-IFNα) and ribavirin (RBV) [138] . Other three-drug regimens based on the addition of the serine protease inhibitor telaprevir (TVR) or boceprevir (BEC) to the standard PEG-IFNα/RBV treatment have also been described [139] . In addition, several recently developed oral drugs, such as simeprevir and sofosbuvir, have been approved by the FDA for more effective care and shorter treatment duration [140] [141] [142] [143] . Despite these numerous drugs and due to the lack of efficient vaccines against HCV, reliable and sensitive detection methods are essential for viral infection prevention and therapeutic responses.