Progress in Electrochemical Biosensing of SARS-CoV-2 Virus for COVID-19 Management

Abstract

Rapid and early diagnosis of lethal coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an important issue considering global human health, economy, education, and other activities. The advancement of understanding of the chemistry/biochemistry and the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has led to the development of low-cost, efficient, and reliable methods for COVID-19 diagnosis over “gold standard” real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) due to its several limitations. This led to the development of electrochemical sensors/biosensors for rapid, fast, and low-cost detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from the patient’s biological fluids by detecting the components of the virus, including structural proteins (antigens), nucleic acid, and antibodies created after COVID-19 infection. This review comprehensively summarizes the state-of-the-art research progress of electrochemical biosensors for COVID-19 diagnosis. They include the detection of spike protein, nucleocapsid protein, whole virus, nucleic acid, and antibodies. The review also outlines the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, different detection methods, and design strategies of electrochemical SARS-CoV-2 biosensors by highlighting the current challenges and future perspectives.