Approach Allows for Rapid Detection of 8 Respiratory Viruses

A report in Frontiers and Biotechnology proposes a multiplexed microfluidic rapid detection approach for the simultaneous detection of 8 respiratory viruses: influenza A virus, influenza B virus, respiratory syncytial virus, SARS-CoV-2, human bocavirus, human metapneumovirus, adenovirus, and human parainfluenza viruses.

“In this study, bioinformatics analysis and nanomaterial optimization were combined to systematically improve the sensitivity, specificity, and detection rate of viral diagnosis,” wrote a team from the Institute of Biopharmaceutical and Health Engineering, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, in Shenzhen, China. “Furthermore, the labeling of nanozymes was optimized to significantly enhance the sensitivity of detection of respiratory virus antigens.”

The team further used a microfluidic chip design that ultimately allowed for rapid, sensitive detection of respiratory viruses. Nanozyme-binding antibodies detected viral proteins with a limit of detection of 0.1 pg/mL with the naked eye and a microplate reader within 40 minutes, researchers reported.

The microfluidic chip immunoassay demonstrated high accuracy compared with a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay, according to the paper. Compared with the results of the real-time RT-PCR assay, accuracies for the microfluidic chip immunoassay were 100% for influenza A virus, 96.5% for influenza B virus, 100% for respiratory syncytial virus, 100% for SARS-CoV-2, 96% for human bocavirus, 96% for human metapneumovirus, 96.5% for adenovirus, and 92% for human parainfluenza viruses. The positive coincidence rate was 97.2%, and the negative coincidence rate was 94.3%.

“Significantly, the multiplexed microfluidic immunoassay chip could simultaneously determine 8 pathogens through 8 noninterfering microfluidic paths, rendering the diagnosis more accurate,” researchers wrote. “The antibodies used in this study were against conserved proteins of the viruses to ensure detection of all subtypes of each virus and their mutants, such as the influenza viruses A and B, achieving sufficient diagnoses for multiple viruses.”

Reference

Wu F, Cai D, Shi X, Li P, Ma L. Multiplexed detection of eight respiratory viruses based on nanozyme colorimetric microfluidic immunoassay. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2024;12:1402831. doi:10.3389/fbioe.2024.1402831