Biosensing Techniques for SARS-CoV-2 Detection

The detection of SARS-CoV-2 has spurred a rapid evolution in biosensing technologies, encompassing molecular, immunological and electronic approaches. Traditional laboratory methods such as quantitative reverse transcription PCR remain the gold standard for sensitivity and specificity but are limited by instrumentation, reagent supply chains and turnaround times. Emerging biosensors seek to overcome these constraints by integrating novel transduction mechanisms, nanomaterials and miniaturised platforms for rapid, on‐site, and user‐friendly diagnostics. Key strategies include electrochemical sensors that convert biomolecular interactions into measurable currents, plasmonic and optical platforms that exploit surface‐enhanced signals, and field‐effect transistor devices that transduce binding events to electronic readouts. Advances in isothermal nucleic acid amplification circumvent thermal cycling, while CRISPR‐based assays add programmable specificity. In parallel, wearable and wireless bioelectronics enable non‐invasive monitoring via breath or physiological markers. Collectively, these techniques promise decentralised, high‐performance testing to support outbreak control, patient management and variant surveillance worldwide.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated battery‐free wearable platforms capable of diagnosing SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and assessing symptom severity from breath samples in under three minutes, achieving near‐perfect accuracy in pilot cohorts. Such devices integrate microfabricated sensors for volatile biomarkers with machine learning algorithms to distinguish infection states and symptom levels. In parallel, ultrasensitive electrochemical biosensors employing isothermal rolling circle amplification have been developed to detect viral gene targets at single‐copy levels. These systems utilise redox‐labelled probes and one‐step hybridisation assays to deliver quantitative results in under two hours, matching gold‐standard PCR performance while offering the potential for real‐time, on‐site deployment in clinical and field settings.

Biosensing Techniques for SARS-CoV-2 Detection publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in biosensing techniques for sars-cov-2 detection across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Electrochemical biosensor: A device that measures electrical signals generated by biomolecular interactions at an electrode surface to quantify target analytes.

Field‐effect transistor (FET) biosensor: A semiconductor device that translates binding events at a functionalised gate surface into changes in electrical current for sensitive detection.

Plasmonic biosensor: A sensor exploiting surface‐plasmon resonance or related optical phenomena in metallic nanostructures to detect molecular binding via refractive index changes.

Rolling circle amplification (RCA): An isothermal nucleic acid amplification technique that synthesises long single‐stranded DNA by circular template replication, enhancing detection sensitivity.

Fluorogenic peptide sensor: A probe comprising peptide ligands tagged with fluorophores and quenchers, which emit fluorescence upon target binding, enabling selective viral variant discrimination.

References

1. Advancement in COVID‐19 detection using nanomaterial‐based biosensors. Exploration (2023).
2. Wireless, battery-free, multifunctional integrated bioelectronics for respiratory pathogens monitoring and severity evaluation. Nature Communications (2023).
3. Fluorogenic Peptide Sensor Array Derived from Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 Classifies Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Variants of Concern. Journal of the American Chemical Society (2024).
4. Development and evaluation of a rapid CRISPR-based diagnostic for COVID-19. PLOS Pathogens (2020).