Ultrasensitive norovirus detection using DNA aptasensor technology.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Molecular Biology
• Biosensing

Background:

• Norovirus (NoV) infections cause significant gastroenteritis globally.
• Rapid and sensitive detection methods for noroviruses are crucial for public health surveillance and outbreak control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize high-affinity DNA aptamers against noroviruses.
• To create a novel aptasensor for the detection of noroviruses.

Main Methods:

• Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment (SELEX) was employed to identify DNA aptamers against murine norovirus (MNV).
• Fluorescence anisotropy was used to determine the binding affinity of the selected aptamer (AG3).
• An electrochemical aptasensor was constructed using gold nanoparticle-modified screen-printed carbon electrodes (GNPs-SPCE) incorporating the AG3 aptamer.

Main Results:

• The aptamer AG3 demonstrated high affinity for MNV in the low picomolar range.
• AG3 showed cross-reactivity with a human norovirus (HuNoV) strain (GII.3) and high specificity compared to feline calicivirus (FCV).
• The developed aptasensor detected MNV with a limit of detection of approximately 180 virus particles.

Conclusions:

• The DNA aptamer AG3 is a promising candidate for norovirus detection due to its high affinity and specificity.
• The aptasensor platform offers a sensitive and rapid method for potential on-site detection of noroviruses in environmental and clinical samples.