Time-Resolved Persistent Luminescence Encoding for Multiplexed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Detection

Capable of precise simultaneous multitarget identifications within a minimized sample, optical multiplexing is vital for accurate diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) while remaining spectral crowding and background interfering. In merits of an autofluorescence-free background and high-capability throughput, a persistent luminescence (PersL) lifetime/color binary encoding strategy was herein proposed for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis. Based on luminescence resonance energy transfer processes, the intense lifetimes and representative emissions of PersL nanoplatforms were rationally manipulated to create a temporal coding dimension within a wide seconds-to-minutes range through three individual channels. Particularly, at least four populations of barcoding in a certain channel were successfully decoded by a purpose-built time resolved PersL technology. As a proof-of-concept, functionalized PersL nanoplatforms were further well developed for the simultaneous quantification of five-plex SARS-CoV-2 biomarkers with limits of detection in the subnanomolar range. Remarkably, PersL nanoplatforms enabled a highly differentiable discrimination of multitargets at various concentrations of ultralow background and high-fidelity resolutions, thereby advancing a powerful tool for optical multiplexing in biomedical applications.

Automated summary

In this study, a binary encoding strategy based on persistent luminescence (PersL) lifetime/color was proposed for accurate diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2. By manipulating the lifetimes and emissions of PersL nanoplatforms, a temporal coding dimension was created, allowing simultaneous identification of multiple targets. The purpose-built time resolved PersL technology successfully decoded multiple populations of barcodes. This research provides a powerful tool for optical multiplexing in biomedical applications.