Ultrafast point-of-care colorimetric detection of dengue using gold nanoparticles capped with β-cyclodextrin modified NS1 antibody

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Biomedical Diagnostics
• Immunosensing

Background:

• Dengue virus poses a significant global health threat, necessitating rapid and accurate diagnostic tools.
• Current diagnostic methods can be time-consuming, delaying critical patient treatment and increasing mortality rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an ultrafast, point-of-care diagnostic assay for dengue virus detection.
• To enhance diagnostic specificity and sensitivity using antibody-conjugated gold nanoparticles.

Main Methods:

• Synthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using beta-cyclodextrin (β-CDs).
• Modified AuNPs surface with 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) and EDC/NHS chemistry.
• Bioconjugated AuNPs with a Non-structural protein 1 (NS1) antibody for dengue virus detection.
• Characterized AuNPs and AuNPs-mAb using UV-Vis spectroscopy and colorimetric analysis.

Main Results:

• Developed AuNPs-mAb for dengue virus detection with results in 1 minute.
• Achieved high sensitivity with a Limit of Detection (LoD) of 39,290 ng/mL and Limit of Quantitation (LoQ) of 130,968 ng/mL within a linear range of 75-250 ng/mL.
• Demonstrated high selectivity for NS1 antigen over other biomolecules and validated the assay in human serum samples.

Conclusions:

• The developed AuNPs-mAb assay offers a rapid, sensitive, and specific method for point-of-care dengue diagnosis.
• This nanotechnology-based approach has the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes by enabling early detection and treatment.
• The method shows promise for integration into routine clinical diagnostics for infectious diseases.