Sensitive electrochemical biosensor combined with isothermal amplification for point-of-care COVID-19 tests

Abstract

We report an electrochemical biosensor combined with recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) for rapid and sensitive detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The electrochemical biosensor based on a multi-microelectrode array allows the detection of multiple target genes by differential pulse voltammetry. The RPA reaction involves hybridization of the RPA amplicon with thiol-modified primers immobilized on the working electrodes, which leads to a reduction of current density as amplicons accumulate. The assay results in shorter "sample-to-answer" times than conventional PCR without expensive thermo-cycling equipment. The limits of detection are about 0.972 fg/μL (RdRP gene) and 3.925 fg/μL (N gene), which are slightly lower than or comparable to that of RPA assay results obtained by gel electrophoresis without post-amplification purification. The combination of electrochemical biosensors and the RPA assay is a rapid, sensitive, and convenient platform that can be potentially used as a point-of-care test for the diagnosis of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Electrochemical detection method; Recombinase polymerase amplification; SARS-CoV-2.