Applications of gold nanoparticles in virus detection

Draz, Mohamed Shehata; Shafiee, Hadi

The AuNP-based assays developed for the molecular detection of SARS are relatively rapid and simple; especially the colorimetric assay, which completely eliminates the need for instrumentation or trained personnel and yields results exclusively in the liquid phase that can be rapidly identified as positive/negative by the naked eye within 5 min. This technique can allow the detection of target SARS nucleic acids with a sensitivity limit down to 100 fM; thus, it can be very beneficial for the early diagnosis of the SARS virus, which is critical for such a contagious pathogen. In addition, the simplicity and very high sensitivity of AuNP-based colorimetric assays for nucleic acids have promoted the application of AuNPs for the detection of other viruses either using slightly modified procedures or in combination with other sensing characteristics of AuNPs [56] .