Development of optical and electrochemical immunodevices for dengue virus detection

Abstract

Dengue virus (DENV) is the most prevalent global arbovirus, exhibiting a high worldwide incidence with intensified severity of symptoms and alarming mortality rates. Faced with the limitations of diagnostic methods, an optical and electrochemical biosystem was developed for the detection of DENV genotypes 1 and 2, using cysteine (Cys), cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots, and anti-DENV antibodies. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were employed to characterize the immunosensor. The AFM and SPR results demonstrated discernible topographic and angular changes confirming the biomolecular recognition. Different concentrations of DENV-1 and DENV-2 were evaluated (0.05 × 10⁶ to 2.0 × 10⁶ PFU mL⁻¹), resulting in a maximum anodic shift (ΔI%) of 263.67% ± 12.54 for DENV-1 and 63.36% ± 3.68 for DENV-2. The detection strategies exhibited a linear response to the increase in viral concentration. Excellent linear correlations, with R² values of 0.95391 for DENV-1 and 0.97773 for DENV-2, were obtained across a broad concentration range. Data analysis demonstrated high reproducibility, displaying relative standard deviation values of 3.42% and 3.62% for Cys–CdTe–antibody_DENV-1–BSA and Cys–CdTe–antibody_DENV-2–BSA systems. The detection limits were 0.34 × 10⁶ PFU mL⁻¹ and 0.02 × 10⁶ PFU mL⁻¹, while the quantification limits were set at 1.49 × 10⁶ PFU mL⁻¹ and 0.06 × 10⁶ PFU mL⁻¹ for DENV-1 and DENV-2, respectively. Therefore, the biosensing apparatus demonstrates analytical effectiveness in viral screening and can be considered an innovative solution for early dengue diagnosis, contributing to global public health.