Nanobiosensors as new diagnostic tools for SARS, MERS and COVID-19: from past to perspectives

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and novel coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) epidemics represent the biggest global health threats in the last two decades. These infections manifest as bronchitis, pneumonia or severe, sometimes fatal, respiratory illness. The novel coronavirus seems to be associated with milder infections but it has spread globally more rapidly becoming a pandemic. This review summarises the state of the art of nanotechnology-based affinity biosensors for SARS, MERS and COVID-19 detection. The nanobiosensors are antibody- or DNA-based biosensors with electrochemical, optical or FET-based transduction. Various kinds of nanomaterials, such as metal nanoparticles, nanowires and graphene, have been merged to the affinity biosensors to enhance their analytical performances. The advantages of the use of the nanomaterials are highlighted, and the results compared with those obtained using non-nanostructured biosensors. A critical comparison with conventional methods, such as RT-PCR and ELISA, is also reported. It is hoped that this review will provide interesting information for the future development of new reliable nano-based platforms for point-of-care diagnostic devices for COVID-19 prevention and control.