Brazilian researchers have created an electrochemical immunosensor that identifies antibodies against the virus.
The electrochemical immunosensor was developed by a team of Brazilian researchers and is able to detect antibodies in serum against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, within five minutes with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity. The device is based on a material frequently used in metallurgy – zinc oxide – and combined with a conductive material, fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass, to create an electrode capable of detecting the response to infection or vaccination. The principle behind the device is that the virus’s spike protein (S) has a negative surface charge, and the zinc oxide nanorods created by the nanotechnology allow it to be immobilized by electrostatic interaction. This makes the device versatile and able to be customized for other applications using different biomolecules. The study was supported by FAPESP, a Brazilian funding agency, and has potential for use in monitoring the response to infection or vaccination as well as assessing the effectiveness of vaccines.
The innovation is described in an article published in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering.
The electrode fabricated by the researchers detected COVID-19 antibodies in serum in about five minutes with 88.7% sensitivity and 100% specificity.
The electrode was made of a material frequently used in metallurgy—zinc oxide—and combined with a conductive material, fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass, to create an electrode capable of detecting the response to infection or vaccination. The principle behind the device is that the virus’s spike protein (S) has a negative surface charge, and the zinc oxide nanorods created by the nanotechnology allow it to be immobilized by electrostatic interaction. This makes the device versatile and able to be customized for other applications using different biomolecules.
In their study, which was supported by FAPESP, a Brazilian funding agency, the authors demonstrate that the sensor is able to detect antibodies in serum against SARS-CoV-2 within five minutes with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity. The device is based on a material frequently used in metallurgy—zinc oxide—and combined with a conductive material, fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass, to create an electrode capable of detecting the response to infection or vaccination. The principle behind the device is that the virus’s spike protein (S) has a negative surface charge, and the zinc oxide nanorods created by the nanotechnology allow it to be immobilized by electrostatic interaction. This makes the device versatile and able to be customized for other applications using different biomolecules.
The study was supported by FAPESP via the National Science and Technology Institute for Bioanalysis and a Thematic Project. The authors of the article—researchers affiliated with UFABC and INCOR—note that one of advantages of their electrode is its flexible architecture, which means that it can easily be customized for other diagnostic and biomedical applications such as serological detection of other diseases of public health interest.
The research was supported by FAPESP via the National Science and Technology Institute for Bioanalysis and a Thematic Project.
The authors of the article – researchers affiliated with UFABC and the Heart Institute (INCOR), which is run by the University of Sao Paulo’s Medical School (FM-USP) – note that the device detects antibodies produced in response to both infection by the virus and vaccination, and shows excellent potential as a tool for monitoring of seroconversion and seroprevalence.
Subsection 3.2 The study was supported by FAPESP, a Brazilian funding agency, and has potential for use in monitoring the response to infection or vaccination as well as assessing the effectiveness of vaccines.
One of the advantages of the electrode they developed is its flexible architecture, which means that it can easily be customized for other diagnostic and biomedical applications.
The technology is a versatile biosensing platform. As developed by the researchers, it can be modified and customized for serological detection of other diseases of public health interest.