Applications of gold nanoparticles in virus detection

Draz, Mohamed Shehata; Shafiee, Hadi

HSVs are among the most prevalent viruses in humans. There are two serotypically and genetically different HSVs, types 1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV-2) [156] . HSV-1 is estimated to infect up to one-third of the world population, while HSV-2 infects nearly 500 million people around the globe, with more than 20 million new cases occurring every year [157] [158] [159] . Both HSV types are renowned for infecting epithelial cells of the skin or mucosal surfaces and then infecting the central nervous system, causing lifelong, incurable infections in humans. These infections are primarily asymptomatic but can progressively result in serious health complications. For example, HSV-1 infection is the main cause of infectious blindness in the world and has emerged as an important cause of genital disease in the developed world, and HSV-2 infection is the leading cause of genital ulcers worldwide [159, 160] . Nevertheless, these viruses are involved in many other clinical conditions, such as encephalitis, conjunctivitis, zosteriform skin lesions, pneumonia, and systemic infections that compromise vital organs in the body [161] . Therefore, desperate efforts have been directed toward developing an effective vaccine against HSVs. However, there are no protective vaccines against HSVs, and only a few anti-herpes drugs, such as acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir, are commercially available [162] [163] [164] . These drugs are only helpful to control symptoms and signs of infection and do not eradicate the virus or even decrease the frequency or severity of infection recurrence and due to the drug resistance rapidly developed by HSVs during treatment, the efficacy of anti-herpes drugs is increasingly hampered over time. Thus, the definitive diagnosis of HSV virus infection is essential for effectively controlling its severity and applying treatment regimens.