An impedimetric approach for COVID-19 detection

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Infectious Disease Diagnostics

Background:

• Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) diagnosis relies on accurate and rapid detection methods.
• The spike protein (S-protein) is crucial for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) entry into host cells.
• Receptors like angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and CD147 mediate viral entry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and optimize an electrochemical biosensor for COVID-19 detection.
• To investigate the analytical performance of the biosensor utilizing ACE2 and CD147 receptors.
• To validate the developed method against established diagnostic techniques.

Main Methods:

• Development of an electrochemical biosensor system.
• Utilizing spike protein (S-protein) interactions with ACE2 and CD147 receptors.
• Optimization of experimental parameters and investigation of analytical characteristics.
• Validation of results using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Main Results:

• The biosensor demonstrated distinct linear detection ranges for S-protein with ACE2 (700–1500 ng mL⁻¹ and 1500–7000 ng mL⁻¹) and CD147 (500–5000 ng mL⁻¹).
• Achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of 299.30 ng mL⁻¹ for ACE2 and 38.99 ng mL⁻¹ for CD147.
• The electrochemical method showed comparable results to RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 samples.

Conclusions:

• The developed electrochemical biosensor provides a sensitive and reliable method for COVID-19 detection.
• The use of ACE2 and CD147 receptors offers specific targets for SARS-CoV-2 identification.
• This approach holds potential for rapid point-of-care diagnostics.