Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Viral Diagnostics: Principles, Strategies, Clinical Challenges, and Future...

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Spectroscopy
• Virology

Background:

• Current viral diagnostics like nucleic acid amplification tests and immunoassays have limitations in cost, speed, and early detection.
• Viral outbreaks necessitate advanced diagnostic tools for rapid and sensitive detection.
• Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) shows potential for highly sensitive viral detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive review of SERS-based virus detection methods.
• To highlight the principles, strategies, and challenges in SERS for viral diagnostics.
• To explore future opportunities for SERS in pandemic preparedness.

Main Methods:

• Review of fundamental principles of Raman enhancement and plasmonic nanostructures.
• Categorization of SERS sensing strategies: direct detection, affinity-based, and labeled methods.
• Discussion of advances in nanofabrication, receptor engineering, and machine learning for SERS.

Main Results:

• SERS achieves single-molecule sensitivity by amplifying weak Raman signals.
• Detection limits can reach a few viral particles per milliliter with optimized SERS assays.
• Advances have improved sensitivity, reproducibility, and classification accuracy in SERS-based viral detection.

Conclusions:

• SERS presents a promising alternative to conventional viral diagnostic methods.
• Challenges in biological complexity and clinical translation need to be addressed.
• Integrating SERS with portable devices and AI can enhance future pandemic preparedness.