Rapid, Sensitive, Label-Free Electrical Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Nasal Swab Samples

Rapid diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is key for the long-term control of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) amid renewed threats of mutated SARS-CoV-2 around the world. Here, we report on an electrical label-free detection of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal swab samples directly collected from outpatients or in saliva-relevant conditions by using a remote floating-gate field-effect transistor (RFGFET) with a 2-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sensing membrane. RFGFET sensors demonstrate rapid detection (<5 min), a 90.6% accuracy from 8 nasal swab samples measured by 4 different devices for each sample, and a coefficient of variation (CV) < 6%. Also, RFGFET sensors display a limit of detection (LOD) of pseudo-SARS-CoV-2 that is 10 000-fold lower than enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, with a comparable LOD to that of reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for patient samples. To achieve this, comprehensive systematic studies were performed regarding interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and spike proteins, neutralizing antibodies, and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, as either a biomarker (detection target) or a sensing probe (receptor) functionalized on the rGO sensing membrane. Taken together, this work may have an immense effect on positioning FET bioelectronics for rapid SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics.

Automated summary

Researchers have developed an electrical label-free detection method using a remote floating-gate field-effect transistor (RFGFET) with a 2-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sensing membrane to detect SARS-CoV-2. The RFGFET sensors showed rapid detection (<5 min), high accuracy (90.6%), and low variation (<6%) when tested with nasal swab samples. The detection limit of the RFGFET sensors for pseudo-SARS-CoV-2 was 10,000 times lower than enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and comparable to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for patient samples. This research has significant implications for rapid SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics.