Direct and Ultrasensitive Bioluminescent Detection of Intact Respiratory Viruses

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Virology
• Biosensor Technology

Background:

• Respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and RSV pose significant health risks.
• Current rapid diagnostic tests detect viral components but not necessarily intact, infectious virions.
• Assessing patient contagiousness requires methods that detect whole virus particles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel biosensor platform for the specific detection of intact respiratory virus particles.
• To differentiate between intact virions and free viral proteins in solution.
• To create a versatile platform adaptable for detecting various respiratory viruses.

Main Methods:

• Development of GLOVID, a modular biosensor platform utilizing split luciferase complementation.
• Harnessing multivalent protein display on viral surfaces to template luciferase reconstitution.
• Employing a protein ligation system compatible with diverse binding domains (nanobodies, scFv, cyclic peptides).

Main Results:

• GLOVID enables specific, single-step detection of intact influenza A and RSV virions.
• The platform achieves high sensitivity, detecting down to 0.1-0.3 fM of genomic units.
• Demonstrated ability to distinguish intact virions from free viral proteins in solution.

Conclusions:

• GLOVID provides a sensitive and specific method for detecting intact respiratory viruses.
• The modular design allows for easy adaptation to target different viral pathogens.
• This platform has potential applications in infectious disease diagnostics and monitoring contagiousness.