Huang Da, Thomas DeCruz Alyssa, Cherkaoui Dounia, Miller Benjamin, Peiris Diluka, Hopgood Samuel, Kevill Jessica, Farkas Kata, Williams Rachel, Jones Davey L, McKendry Rachel A
London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London, WC1H 0AH, UK.
Division of Medicine, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
Nat Commun. 2025 Sep 1;16(1):8158. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-63192-w.
Wastewater-based epidemiology is emerging as a powerful early-warning public health surveillance tool. However, gold-standard PCR necessitates transporting samples to laboratories, with significant reporting delays (24-72 h), prompting growing interest in rapid, near-source tests for resource-limited settings. Research has focused on gold nanoparticle dipsticks, but these typically lack sensitivity in wastewater. Herein, we explore two complementary nanomaterial based approaches, using SARS-CoV-2 as an exemplar: 1) visually-read carbon black dipsticks; 2) spin-enhanced fluorescent nanodiamond dipsticks, exploiting selective separation from background autofluorescence. The assay provides a 2-hour turnaround from sample preparation to result with minimal equipment and achieves a limit of detection down to 7 copies per assay. A pilot study with samples from the Welsh National WBE programme finds 80% sensitivity and 100% specificity for carbon black, and 100% sensitivity, specificity for nanodiamonds. A proof-of-concept lab-in-a-suitcase nanodiamond assay tests raw, unprocessed wastewater samples. These findings lay the foundations for near-source WBE early-warning quantum sensors in the environment.
基于废水的流行病学正成为一种强大的早期预警公共卫生监测工具。然而，金标准的聚合酶链反应（PCR）需要将样本运送到实验室，报告延迟时间较长（24 - 72小时），这促使人们对资源有限环境下的快速、近源检测方法越来越感兴趣。研究主要集中在金纳米颗粒试纸条上，但这些试纸条在废水中通常缺乏灵敏度。在此，我们以严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）为例，探索两种基于纳米材料的互补方法：1）肉眼读取的炭黑试纸条；2）利用与背景自发荧光的选择性分离的自旋增强荧光纳米金刚石试纸条。该检测方法从样本制备到得出结果只需2小时，所需设备最少，检测限低至每次检测7个拷贝。一项对威尔士国家基于废水的流行病学（WBE）项目样本的初步研究发现，炭黑试纸条的灵敏度为80%，特异性为100%，纳米金刚石试纸条的灵敏度和特异性均为100%。一个手提箱式实验室概念验证纳米金刚石检测方法对未经处理的原始废水样本进行了测试。这些发现为环境中近源的基于废水的流行病学早期预警量子传感器奠定了基础。
