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Updated: Jun 13, 2025

Multiplexed Isothermal Amplification Based Diagnostic Platform to Detect Zika, Chikungunya, and Dengue 1
Published on: March 13, 2018
Salivary detection of Chikungunya virus infection using a portable and sustainable biophotonic platform coupled with
Marco Guevara-Vega1, Rafael Borges Rosa2,3, Douglas Carvalho Caixeta1
1Innovation Center in Salivary Diagnostic and Nanobiotechnology, Department of Physiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Uberlandia, ARFIS, Av. Pará, 1720, Campus Umuarama, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, CEP 38400-902, Brazil.
Abstract:
The current detection method for Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV) involves an invasive and costly molecular biology procedure as the gold standard diagnostic method. Consequently, the search for a non-invasive, more cost-effective, reagent-free, and sustainable method for the detection of CHIKV infection is imperative for public health. The portable Fourier-transform infrared coupled with Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR-FTIR) platform was applied to discriminate systemic diseases using saliva, however, the salivary diagnostic application in viral diseases is less explored. The study aimed to identify unique vibrational modes of salivary infrared profiles to detect CHIKV infection using chemometrics and artificial intelligence algorithms. Thus, we intradermally challenged interferon-gamma gene knockout C57/BL6 mice with CHIKV (20 µl, 1 X 105 PFU/ml, n = 6) or vehicle (20 µl, n = 7). Saliva and serum samples were collected on day 3 (due to the peak of viremia). CHIKV infection was confirmed by Real-time PCR in the serum of CHIKV-infected mice. The best pattern classification showed a sensitivity of 83%, specificity of 86%, and accuracy of 85% using support vector machine (SVM) algorithms. Our results suggest that the salivary ATR-FTIR platform can discriminate CHIKV infection with the potential to be applied as a non-invasive, sustainable, and cost-effective detection tool for this emerging disease.

