Advances in isothermal nucleic acid amplification methods for hepatitis B virus detection

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Molecular Biology
• Diagnostics

Background:

• Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a significant global health concern.
• Serological assays detecting HBsAg are standard for HBV diagnosis but miss some cases.
• Increasing identification of HBV DNA positive, HBsAg negative individuals necessitates advanced diagnostic approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive review of nucleic acid isothermal amplification technologies for HBV detection.
• To compare the analytical performance of various isothermal amplification methods.
• To discuss the integration of these technologies with microfluidics, lateral flow assays, and CRISPR/Cas systems.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on nucleic acid amplification testing (NAT) for HBV.
• Focus on non-PCR-based isothermal amplification techniques (NASBA, RCA, LAMP, HDA, RPA).
• Analysis of method integration with advanced platforms for point-of-care testing (POCT).

Main Results:

• Isothermal amplification methods offer sensitive and rapid HBV detection, suitable for POCT.
• Non-PCR based methods are gaining prominence for next-generation NAT due to their isothermal nature.
• Integration with microfluidics, lateral flow, and CRISPR/Cas enhances diagnostic capabilities.

Conclusions:

• Nucleic acid isothermal amplification technologies are crucial for accurate and accessible HBV diagnosis.
• These methods represent a significant advancement over traditional serological assays.
• Future directions include further optimization and integration for widespread clinical application.