A Point-of-Care Biosensor for Rapid Detection and Differentiation of COVID-19 Virus (SARS-CoV-2) and Influenza Virus Using Subwavelength Grating Micro-ring Resonator

TL;DR

This paper presents a rapid, ultrasensitive biosensor platform using micro-ring resonators for simultaneous detection and differentiation of COVID-19 and influenza, enabling point-of-care diagnostics with high specificity and speed.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel lab-on-a-chip biosensing platform that can concurrently detect and distinguish SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A H1N1 with high sensitivity and specificity.

Findings

Detection limit of 100 fg/mL within 15 minutes

Successful differentiation of COVID-19 and influenza A H1N1

High specificity with minimal cross-reactivity

Abstract

In the context of continued spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 and the emergence of new variants, the demand for rapid, accurate, and frequent detection is increasing. Besides, the new predominant strain, Omicron variant, manifests more similar clinical features to those of other common respiratory infections. The concurrent detection of multiple potential pathogens helps distinguish SARS-CoV-2 infection from other diseases with overlapping symptoms, which is significant for patients to receive tailored treatment and containing the outbreak. Here, we report a lab-on-a-chip biosensing platform for SARS-CoV-2 detection based on subwavelength grating micro-ring resonator. The sensing surface is functionalized by specific antibody against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which could produce redshifts of resonant peaks by antigen-antibody combination, thus achieving quantitative detection. Additionally, the sensor chip is integrated with a microfluidic chip with an anti-backflow Y-shaped structure that enables the concurrent detection of two analytes. In this study, we realized the detection and differentiation of COVID-19 and influenza A H1N1. Experimental results show that the limit of detection of our device reaches 100 fg/mL (1.31 fM) within 15 min detecting time, and cross-reactivity tests manifest the specificity of the optical diagnostic assay. Further, the integrated packaging and streamlined workflow facilitate its use for clinical applications. Thus, the biosensing platform offers a promising solution to achieve ultrasensitive, selective, multiplexed, and quantitative point-of-care detection of COVID-19.