Influenza A virus molecularly imprinted polymers and their application in virus sub-type classification

In this work, we apply a molecular imprinting strategy as a screening protocol for different influenza A subtypes, namely H5N1, H5N3, H1N1, H1N3 and H6N1. Molecularly imprinted polymers for each of these subtypes lead to appreciable sensor characteristics on a quartz crystal microbalance leading to detection limits as low as 10⁵ particles per ml. Selectivity studies indicate that each virus is preferably incorporated by its own MIP. Recognition in most cases is dominated by the neuraminidase residue rather than the hemagglutinin. Multivariate analysis shows that the sensor responses can be correlated with the differences in hemagglutinin and neuraminidase patterns from databases. This allows for virus subtype characterization and thus rapid screening.