Rapid Molecular Diagnostic Sensor Based on Ball-Lensed Optical Fibers

• Published in: Biosensors (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 4; p. 125
• Main Authors: Park, Byungjun, Koo, Bonhan, Kim, Jisub, Lee, Kiri, Bang, Hyeonjin, Kim, Sung-Han, Jhang, Kyung Young, Shin, Yong, Lee, Seungrag
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 15.04.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Automation; Biosensing Techniques - instrumentation; Biosensing Techniques - methods; Coronaviruses; Coxiella burnetii; Coxiella burnetii - genetics; Coxiella burnetii - isolation & purification; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Diagnosis; DNA; DNA, Bacterial - analysis; emerging infectious pathogens; Fever; fiber optics; Humans; Middle East respiratory syndrome; Nucleic acids; Optical communication; Optical Fibers; Optical measuring instruments; optical signal sensing; Pathogens; Q fever; Q Fever - diagnosis; Q Fever - microbiology; rapid diagnosis; Respiratory diseases; Sensors; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Signal measurement; Signal processing; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; Viral diseases; Zika virus; Middle East; Japan; fiber optics; emerging infectious pathogens; Q fever; rapid diagnosis; optical signal sensing
• ISSN: 2079-6374; 2079-6374
• DOI: 10.3390/bios11040125

Given the fatal health conditions caused by emerging infectious pathogens, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, their rapid diagnosis is required for preventing secondary infections and guiding correct treatments. Although various molecular diagnostic methods based on nucleic acid amplification have been suggested as gold standards for identifying different species, these methods are not suitable for the rapid diagnosis of pathogens owing to their long result acquisition times and complexity. In this study, we developed a rapid bio-optical sensor that uses a ball-lensed optical fiber (BLOF) probe and an automatic analysis platform to precisely diagnose infectious pathogens. The BLOF probe is easy to align and has a high optical sensing sensitivity (1.5-fold) and a large detection range (1.2-fold) for an automatic optical sensing system. Automatic signal processing of up to 250 copies/reaction of DNA of Q-fever-causing was achieved within 8 min. The clinical utility of this system was demonstrated with 18 clinical specimens (9 Q-fever and 9 other febrile disease samples) by measuring the resonant wavelength shift of positive or negative samples for DNA. The results from the system revealed the stable and automatic optical signal measurement of DNA with 100% accuracy. We envision that this BLOF probe-based sensor would be a practical tool for the rapid, simple, and sensitive diagnosis of emerging infectious pathogens.