Rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis using a three-dimensional nanofiber paper-based electrochemical sensor

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death caused by a single infectious pathogen. Currently, a variety of conventional methods are widely used for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) or diagnosing TB, which have made significant contributions to controlling the TB epidemic. However, these existing TB diagnostic methods still face some difficulties and cannot provide rapid, low-cost, high-sensitivity, and high-accuracy diagnostic results simultaneously. Therefore, it is imperative to develop new TB diagnostic methods that are rapid, cost-effective, and sensitive through rigorous evaluation of potential biomarkers and new detection methods. In this study, a three-dimensional nanofiber (3D NFs) paper-based electrochemical sensor was prepared using electrospinning technology, and Mtb secretory protein Ag85B was utilized as a biomarker to achieve point-of-care detection of TB clinical samples. The 3D NFs paper-based electrochemical sensor can achieve a wide range of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin detection of 10¹-10⁸ CFU/mL with good specificity. When the clinical bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples were diluted 10³ or 10⁴ times, the 3D NFs paper-based electrochemical sensor could detect TB clinical samples with a sensitivity of up to 92.9 % and a specificity of 60 % within 5 min. 3D NFs paper-based electrochemical sensor has the advantages of low cost, high sensitivity, and fast response speed, and can realize rapid preliminary screening of TB patients.