Nanotechnology-based strategies for effective and rapid detection of sars-cov-2
Date
2021Author
Moabelo, Koena L
Martin, Darius R
Fadaka, Adewale O
Sibuyi, Nicole R. S.
Meyer, Mervin
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has gained worldwide attention and
has prompted the development of innovative diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines to mitigate the
pandemic. Diagnostic methods based on reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
technology are the gold standard in the fight against COVID-19. However, this test might not be easily
accessible in low-resource settings for the early detection and diagnosis of severe acute respiratory
syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The lack of access to well-equipped clinical laboratories,
requirement for the high level of technical competence, and the cost of the RT-PCR test are the major
limitations. Moreover, RT-PCR is unsuitable for application at the point-of-care testing (PoCT) as
it is time-consuming and lab-based. Due to emerging mutations of the virus and the burden it has
placed on the health care systems, there is a growing urgency to develop sensitive, selective, and
rapid diagnostic devices for COVID-19. Nanotechnology has emerged as a versatile technology in
the production of reliable diagnostic tools for various diseases and offers new opportunities for the
development of COVID-19 diagnostic systems. This review summarizes some of the nano-enabled
diagnostic systems that were explored for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. It highlights how the unique
physicochemical properties of nanoparticles were exploited in the development of novel colorimetric
assays and biosensors for COVID-19 at the PoCT. The potential to improve the efficiency of the current
assays, as well as the challenges associated with the development of these innovative diagnostic
tools, are also discussed.