A Novel Amperometric Genosensor for Rapid Detection of Canine Parvovirus in Feces

A highly sensitive novel amperometric genosensor has been developed for rapid detection of canine parvovirus (CPV) DNA in fecal swabs of naturally infected dogs. The genosensor is based on a single stranded 5°-thiolated (SH) DNA probe complementary to VP1/VP2 gene of canine parvo vaccine strain, immobilized covalently on a polycrystalline gold (Au) electrode. The genosensor has been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR), cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS). The ssDNA-SH/Au electrode was hybridized with single stranded target DNA (ss T-DNA) in the sample. This hybridization was detected by reduction in current, generated by interaction of methylene blue (MB) with free guanine of ssDNA. The current response of genosensor was determined by CV, DPV and EIS. The sensor detected single stranded genomic DNA (ss g-DNA) isolated from vaccine strain of CPV in the range, 1.0-12.0 ng/μl at 25 °C for 10 min. Subsequently, the genobiosensor was applied for detection of CPV viral DNA in fecal swabs of naturally infected dogs. The limit of detection (LOD) of the sensor was 1.0 ng/μl of fecal viral DNA. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on development and application of amperometric biosensor for rapid, sensitive, specific point of care detection of viral DNA of CPV in feces.