Development and evaluation of a polydiacetylene based biosensor for the detection of H5 influenza virus

H5N1 avian influenza has caused serious economic losses as well as posed significant threats to public health, agriculture and wildlife. It is important to develop a rapid, sensitive and specific detection platform suitable for disease surveillance and control. In this study, a highly sensitive, specific and rapid biosensor based on polydiacetylene was developed for detecting H5 influenza virus. The polydiacetylene based biosensor was produced from an optimized ratio of 10,12-pentacosadiynoic acid and 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, with the anti-H5 influenza antibody embedded onto the vesicle surface. The optimized polydiacetylene vesicle could detect H5 influenza virus sensitively with a detection limit of 0.53 copies/μL, showing a dramatic blue-to-red color change that can be observed directly by the naked eye and recorded by a UV-vis spectrometer. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the biosensor were also evaluated. The sensor could specifically differentiate H5 influenza virus from H3 influenza virus, Newcastle disease virus and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus. Detection using tracheal swabs was in accord with virus isolation results, and comparable to the RT-PCR method. These results offer the possibility and potential of simple polydiacetylene based bio-analytical method for influenza surveillance.