Department of Anaesthesiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, Hubei, China.
Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Hazard Identification and Control, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430065, Hubei, China;Department of Pharmacy, Medical College, Wuhan University of Science and Technology Wuhan 430065, Hubei, China.
Biomed Environ Sci. 2023 Mar 20;36(3):269-278. doi: 10.3967/bes2023.029.
Late 2019 witnessed the outbreak and widespread transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a new, highly contagious disease caused by novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Consequently, considerable attention has been paid to the development of new diagnostic tools for the early detection of SARS-CoV-2.
In this study, a new poly-N-isopropylacrylamide microgel-based electrochemical sensor was explored to detect the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S protein) in human saliva. The microgel was composed of a copolymer of N-isopropylacrylamide and acrylic acid, and gold nanoparticles were encapsulated within the microgel through facile and economical fabrication. The electrochemical performance of the sensor was evaluated through differential pulse voltammetry.
Under optimal experimental conditions, the linear range of the sensor was 10 -10 mg/mL, whereas the detection limit was 9.55 fg/mL. Furthermore, the S protein was instilled in artificial saliva as the infected human saliva model, and the sensing platform showed satisfactory detection capability.
The sensing platform exhibited excellent specificity and sensitivity in detecting spike protein, indicating its potential application for the time-saving and inexpensive detection of SARS-CoV-2.
2019 年末，新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）爆发并广泛传播，这是一种由新型严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）引起的新发、高传染性疾病。因此，人们高度关注开发新的诊断工具以早期检测 SARS-CoV-2。
本研究探索了一种基于聚 N-异丙基丙烯酰胺的新型微凝胶电化学传感器，用于检测人唾液中的 SARS-CoV-2 刺突蛋白（S 蛋白）。微凝胶由 N-异丙基丙烯酰胺和丙烯酸的共聚物组成，通过简单经济的制造方法将金纳米粒子包埋在微凝胶中。通过差分脉冲伏安法评估传感器的电化学性能。
在最佳实验条件下，传感器的线性范围为 10 -10 mg/mL，检测限为 9.55 fg/mL。此外，将 S 蛋白注入人工唾液中作为感染人唾液模型，传感平台显示出令人满意的检测能力。
该传感平台在检测刺突蛋白方面表现出优异的特异性和灵敏度，表明其在 SARS-CoV-2 的省时、廉价检测方面具有潜在的应用价值。
