Portable GMR Handheld Platform for the Detection of Influenza A Virus

Advancements in superparamagnetic nanogels: A dual-role platform for diagnosis and targeted drug delivery

Superparamagnetic nanogels represent a groundbreaking advancement in nanotechnology, combining the unique properties of superparamagnetic materials with the versatility of nanogels to create multifunctional platforms for biomedical applications. These innovative constructs play a dual role in diagnosis and targeted drug delivery, addressing critical challenges in modern healthcare. This review paper explores the synthesis, characterization, and applications of superparamagnetic nanogels, providing a comprehensive overview of their potential impact in biomedicine. The synthesis section outlines various materials, fabrication techniques, and surface functionalization methods used to enhance their functionality and biocompatibility. Characterization techniques are discussed, focusing on their structural, magnetic, and biological properties. In diagnostic applications, superparamagnetic nanogels excel as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging, biosensors, and tools for real-time disease monitoring. Their superior sensitivity and specificity offer unprecedented opportunities for early disease detection and personalized treatment. In drug delivery, these nanogels demonstrate remarkable efficiency in encapsulating therapeutic agents and enabling controlled release. Magnetic guidance enhances targeting precision, minimizing off-target effects and improving therapeutic outcomes, particularly in cancer therapy. The dual-role capability of these nanogels underscores their potential as transformative tools in precision medicine. This review emphasizes recent advancements, highlighting the challenges and future perspectives in optimizing superparamagnetic nanogels for clinical translation. By bridging the gap between innovative design and practical application, this work aims to inspire further research and development in this dynamic field.

Hybrid Metasurface for On-Chip Enrichment and Quantification of Biological Samples

This work reports a 3D-printed metasurface as a biosensing device that combines the functions of sample enrichment and quantification. The device consists of a nanoplasmonic sensing element surrounded by a biomimetic hydrophobic structure. The hydrophobic structure serves as a sample concentrator that can enrich analyte, which is subsequently quantified by the nanoplasmonic biosensor. Both the nanoscale biosensor and microscale hydrophobic sample concentrator were fabricated using two-photon polymerization lithography (TPL). The hydrophobic microstructure was inspired by natural patterns found on surfaces like lotus leaves, which are known for their water-repellent properties. The TPL-based 3D printing approach enables the integration of two functions into one chip with a high-resolution and simple fabrication process. The device was employed to detect swine influenza A virus within a droplet initially containing 20 μL of liquid. During testing, the droplet's volume decreased due to evaporation driven by plasmonic heating. As a result, the droplet's diameter can shrink from 3.4 mm to 0.1 mm in 15 min. The volume reduction corresponds to a virus concentration increase of over 4 × 104 times. Integrating superhydrophobic sample concentration with the nanoplasmonic biosensor significantly improves analyte immobilization dynamics, enhances sensitivity, and reduces assay time.

Perspective: magnetic quantum sensors for biomedical applications

With advancements in thin-film deposition, nanofabrication, and material characterization techniques, quantum devices leveraging nanoscale quantum phenomena have emerged across various fields, including quantum computing, sensing, communication, and metrology. Among these, quantum sensing harnesses the unique properties of quantum systems to achieve highly sensitive and precise measurements of physical quantities such as magnetic and electric fields, temperature, pressure, and even biological events. In this perspective, we highlight some popular magnetic quantum sensors used for magnetic sensing and imaging, and emerging spintronic quantum sensors that exploit the quantum mechanical properties of electron spin for similar applications. Most of the techniques discussed remain in lab-based stages, with limited preliminary data reported. However, the authors believe that, with continued progress in spintronics, these nano- and micro-scale spintronic devices-offering superior and unique magnetic quantum properties-could open new horizons in biomedical applications, including single-cell and single-molecule detection, large-scale protein profiling, sub-micrometer resolution medical imaging, and beyond.

Roadmap on magnetic nanoparticles in nanomedicine

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) represent a class of small particles typically with diameters ranging from 1 to 100 nanometers. These nanoparticles are composed of magnetic materials such as iron, cobalt, nickel, or their alloys. The nanoscale size of MNPs gives them unique physicochemical (physical and chemical) properties not found in their bulk counterparts. Their versatile nature and unique magnetic behavior make them valuable in a wide range of scientific, medical, and technological fields. Over the past decade, there has been a significant surge in MNP-based applications spanning biomedical uses, environmental remediation, data storage, energy storage, and catalysis. Given their magnetic nature and small size, MNPs can be manipulated and guided using external magnetic fields. This characteristic is harnessed in biomedical applications, where these nanoparticles can be directed to specific targets in the body for imaging, drug delivery, or hyperthermia treatment. Herein, this roadmap offers an overview of the current status, challenges, and advancements in various facets of MNPs. It covers magnetic properties, synthesis, functionalization, characterization, and biomedical applications such as sample enrichment, bioassays, imaging, hyperthermia, neuromodulation, tissue engineering, and drug/gene delivery. However, as MNPs are increasingly explored forin vivoapplications, concerns have emerged regarding their cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, and degradation, prompting attention from both researchers and clinicians. This roadmap aims to provide a comprehensive perspective on the evolving landscape of MNP research.

Advances in rapid point-of-care virus testing

Outbreaks of viral diseases seriously jeopardize people's health and cause huge economic losses. At the same time, virology provides a new perspective for biology, molecular biology and cancer research, and it is important to study the discovered viruses with potential applications. Therefore, the development of immediate and rapid viral detection methods for the prevention and treatment of viral diseases as well as the study of viruses has attracted extensive attention from scientists. With the continuous progress of science and technology, especially in the field of bioanalysis, a series of new detection techniques have been applied to the on-site rapid detection of viruses, which has become a powerful approach for human beings to fight against viruses. In this paper, the latest research progress of rapid point-of-care detection of viral nucleic acids, antigens and antibodies is presented. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of these technologies are discussed from the perspective of practical application requirements. Finally, the problems and challenges faced by rapid viral detection methods and their development prospects are discussed.

On-The-Spot Sampling and Detection of Viral Particles on Solid Surfaces Using a Sponge Virus Sensor Incorporated with Finger-Press Fluid Release

This paper presents a sponge-based electrochemical sensor for rapid, on-site collection and analysis of infectious viruses on solid surfaces. The device utilizes a conducting porous sponge modified with graphene, graphene oxide, and specific antibodies. The sponge serves as a hydrophilic porous electrode capable of liquid collection and electrochemical measurements. The device operation involves spraying an aqueous solution on a target surface, swiping the misted surface using the sponge, discharging an electrolyte solution with a simple finger press, and performing in situ incubation and electrochemical measurements. By leveraging the water-absorbing ability of the biofunctionalized conducting sponge, the sensor can effectively collect and quantify virus particles from the surface. The portability of the device is enhanced by introducing a push-release feature that dispenses the liquid electrolyte from a miniature reservoir onto the sensor surface. This reservoir has sharp edges to rupture a liquid sealing film with a finger press. The ability of the device to sample and quantify viral particles is demonstrated by using influenza A virus as the model. The sensor provided a calculated limit of detection of 0.4 TCID50/mL for H1N1 virus, along with a practical concentration range from 1-106 TCID50/mL. Additionally, it achieves a 15% collection efficiency from single-run swiping on a tabletop surface. This versatile device allows for convenient on-site virus detection within minutes, eliminating the need for sample pretreatment and simplifying the entire sample collecting and measuring process. This device presents significant potential for rapid virus detection on solid surfaces.

Magnetic Nanoparticles: A Review on Synthesis, Characterization, Functionalization, and Biomedical Applications

Nowadays, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are applied in numerous fields, especially in biomedical applications. Since biofluidic samples and biological tissues are nonmagnetic, negligible background signals can interfere with the magnetic signals from MNPs in magnetic biosensing and imaging applications. In addition, the MNPs can be remotely controlled by magnetic fields, which make it possible for magnetic separation and targeted drug delivery. Furthermore, due to the unique dynamic magnetizations of MNPs when subjected to alternating magnetic fields, MNPs are also proposed as a key tool in cancer treatment, an example is magnetic hyperthermia therapy. Due to their distinct surface chemistry, good biocompatibility, and inducible magnetic moments, the material and morphological structure design of MNPs has attracted enormous interest from a variety of scientific domains. Herein, a thorough review of the chemical synthesis strategies of MNPs, the methodologies to modify the MNPs surface for better biocompatibility, the physicochemical characterization techniques for MNPs, as well as some representative applications of MNPs in disease diagnosis and treatment are provided. Further portions of the review go into the diagnostic and therapeutic uses of composite MNPs with core/shell structures as well as a deeper analysis of MNP properties to learn about potential biomedical applications.

Microfluidic magnetic detection system combined with a DNA framework-mediated immune-sandwich assay for rapid and sensitive detection of tumor-derived exosomes

Tumor-derived circulating exosomes (TDEs) are being pursued as informative and noninvasive biomarkers. However, quantitatively detecting TDEs is still challenging. Herein, we constructed a DNA tetrahedral-structured probe (TSP)-mediated microfluidic magnetic detection system (μFMS) to provide a rapid and sensitive platform for analyzing TDEs. CD63 aptamer-modified Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were constructed to form magnetic nano-report probes (MNRs). The microfluidic chips were fabricated from glass functionalized with DNA TSP-modified aldehyde groups and a PDMS layer designed with serpentine microchannels. An induction coil-based magnetic detector was used to measure the magnetic signal. The linear dynamic range of the μFMS system for TDE assays was 1.98 × 103-1.98 × 107 particles/mL with a limit of detection of 1.98 × 103 particles/mL in PBS. There was no significant difference in TDE detection between the simulated serum and PBS, which indicated the feasibility of the constructed μFMS system for TDE analysis in complex biological systems. In terms of cost, reaction time and operation procedure, this μFMS has the potential to be developed as a clinical point-of-care testing tool for cancer diagnosis and therapeutics.

Giant Magnetoresistance Based Biosensors for Cancer Screening and Detection

Early-stage screening of cancer is critical in preventing its development and therefore can improve the prognosis of the disease. One accurate and effective method of cancer screening is using high sensitivity biosensors to detect optically, chemically, or magnetically labeled cancer biomarkers. Among a wide range of biosensors, giant magnetoresistance (GMR) based devices offer high sensitivity, low background noise, robustness, and low cost. With state-of-the-art micro- and nanofabrication techniques, tens to hundreds of independently working GMR biosensors can be integrated into fingernail-sized chips for the simultaneous detection of multiple cancer biomarkers (i.e., multiplexed assay). Meanwhile, the miniaturization of GMR chips makes them able to be integrated into point-of-care (POC) devices. In this review, we first introduce three types of GMR biosensors in terms of their structures and physics, followed by a discussion on fabrication techniques for those sensors. In order to achieve target cancer biomarker detection, the GMR biosensor surface needs to be subjected to biological decoration. Thus, commonly used methods for surface functionalization are also reviewed. The robustness of GMR-based biosensors in cancer detection has been demonstrated by multiple research groups worldwide and we review some representative examples. At the end of this review, the challenges and future development prospects of GMR biosensor platforms are commented on. With all their benefits and opportunities, it can be foreseen that GMR biosensor platforms will transition from a promising candidate to a robust product for cancer screening in the near future.

Real-time temperature correction for magnetoresistive biosensors integrated with temperature modulator

Magnetoresistance-based biosensors utilize changes in electrical resistance upon varying magnetic fields to measure biological molecules or events involved with magnetic tags. However, electrical resistance fluctuates with temperature. To decouple unwanted temperature-dependent signals from the signal of interest, various methods have been proposed to correct signals from magnetoresistance-based biosensors. Yet, there is still a need for a temperature correction method capable of instantaneously correcting signals from all sensors in an array, as multiple biomarkers need to be detected simultaneously with a group of sensors in a central laboratory or point-of-care setting. Here we report a giant magnetoresistive biosensor system that enables real-time temperature correction for individual sensors using temperature correction coefficients obtained through a temperature sweep generated by an integrated temperature modulator. The algorithm with individual temperature correction coefficients obviously outperformed that using the average temperature correction coefficient. Further, temperature regulation did not eliminate temperature-dependent signals completely. To demonstrate that the method can be used in biomedical applications where large temperature variations are involved, binding kinetics experiments and melting curve analysis were conducted with the temperature correction method. The method successfully removed all temperature-dependent artifacts and thus produced more precise kinetic parameters and melting temperatures of DNA hybrids.

Magnetic Particle Spectroscopy for Point-of-Care: A Review on Recent Advances

Since its first report in 2006, magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS)-based biosensors have flourished over the past decade. Currently, MPS are used for a wide range of applications, such as disease diagnosis, foodborne pathogen detection, etc. In this work, different MPS platforms, such as dual-frequency and mono-frequency driving field designs, were reviewed. MPS combined with multi-functional magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been extensively reported as a versatile platform for the detection of a long list of biomarkers. The surface-functionalized MNPs serve as nanoprobes that specifically bind and label target analytes from liquid samples. Herein, an analysis of the theories and mechanisms that underlie different MPS platforms, which enable the implementation of bioassays based on either volume or surface, was carried out. Furthermore, this review draws attention to some significant MPS platform applications in the biomedical and biological fields. In recent years, different kinds of MPS point-of-care (POC) devices have been reported independently by several groups in the world. Due to the high detection sensitivity, simple assay procedures and low cost per run, the MPS POC devices are expected to become more widespread in the future. In addition, the growth of telemedicine and remote monitoring has created a greater demand for POC devices, as patients are able to receive health assessments and obtain results from the comfort of their own homes. At the end of this review, we comment on the opportunities and challenges for POC devices as well as MPS devices regarding the intensely growing demand for rapid, affordable, high-sensitivity and user-friendly devices.

Magnetic biosensors for identification of SARS-CoV-2, Influenza, HIV, and Ebola viruses: a review

Infectious diseases such as novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), Influenza, HIV, Ebola, etc kill many people around the world every year (SARS-CoV-2 in 2019, Ebola in 2013, HIV in 1980, Influenza in 1918). For example, SARS-CoV-2 has plagued higher than 317 000 000 people around the world from December 2019 to January 13, 2022. Some infectious diseases do not yet have not a proper vaccine, drug, therapeutic, and/or detection method, which makes rapid identification and definitive treatments the main challenges. Different device techniques have been used to detect infectious diseases. However, in recent years, magnetic materials have emerged as active sensors/biosensors for detecting viral, bacterial, and plasmids agents. In this review, the recent applications of magnetic materials in biosensors for infectious viruses detection have been discussed. Also, this work addresses the future trends and perspectives of magnetic biosensors.

Giant Magnetoresistance Biosensors for Food Safety Applications

Nowadays, the increasing number of foodborne disease outbreaks around the globe has aroused the wide attention of the food industry and regulators. During food production, processing, storage, and transportation, microorganisms may grow and secrete toxins as well as other harmful substances. These kinds of food contamination from microbiological and chemical sources can seriously endanger human health. The traditional detection methods such as cell culture and colony counting cannot meet the requirements of rapid detection due to some intrinsic shortcomings, such as being time-consuming, laborious, and requiring expensive instrumentation or a central laboratory. In the past decade, efforts have been made to develop rapid, sensitive, and easy-to-use detection platforms for on-site food safety regulation. Herein, we review one type of promising biosensing platform that may revolutionize the current food surveillance approaches, the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) biosensors. Benefiting from the advances of nanotechnology, hundreds to thousands of GMR biosensors can be integrated into a fingernail-sized area, allowing the higher throughput screening of food samples at a lower cost. In addition, combined with on-chip microfluidic channels and filtration function, this type of GMR biosensing system can be fully automatic, and less operator training is required. Furthermore, the compact-sized GMR biosensor platforms could be further extended to related food contamination and the field screening of other pathogen targets.

One-Step Homogeneous Immunoassay for the Detection of Influenza Virus Using Switching Peptide and Graphene Quencher

One-step homogeneous immunoassay was developed for detecting influenza viruses A and B (Inf-A and Inf-B) using the switching peptide H2. As the fluorescence-labeled switching peptide dissociated from the binding pocket of detection antibodies, the fluorescence signal could be directly generated by the binding of Inf-A and Inf-B without washing (i.e., one-step immunoassay). For the one-step homogeneous immunoassay with detection antibodies in solution, graphene was labeled with the antibodies as a fluorescence quencher. To test the feasibility of the homogeneous one-step immunoassay, the stability of the antibody complex with the switching peptide was evaluated under different pH and salt conditions. The one-step homogeneous immunoassay with switching peptide was conducted using influenza virus antigens in phosphate-buffered saline and real samples with inactivated Inf-A and Inf-B spiked in serum. Finally, the one-step homogeneous immunoassay results were compared with those of commercially available lateral flow immunoassays.

Strategies to simplify operation procedures for applying labeled antibody-based immunosensors to point-of-care testing

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is an ideal testing format for the rapid and on-site detection of analytes in patients, and facilitates disease diagnosis and monitoring. Molecular recognition elements are required for the specific detection of analytes, and biosensors that use antibodies as the molecular recognition elements are called immunosensors. Traditional immunosensors such as sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) require complicated procedures to form immunocomplexes consisting of detection antibodies, analytes, and capture antibodies. They also require long incubation times, washing procedures, and large and expensive specialized equipment that must be operated by laboratory technicians. Immunosensors for POCT should be systems that use relatively small pieces of equipment and do not require special training. In this review, to help in the construction of immunosensors for POCT, we have summarized the recently reported strategies for simplifying the operation, incubation, and washing procedures. We focused on the optical and electrochemical detection principles of immunosensors, compared the strategies for operation, sensitivity, and detection devices and discussed the ideal system. Combining detection devices that can be fabricated inexpensively and strategies that enable simplification of operation procedures and enhance sensitivities will contribute to the development of immunosensors for POCT.

Nanomaterials for virus sensing and tracking

The effect of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic on global healthcare systems has underlined the importance of timely and cost-effective point-of-care diagnosis of viruses. The need for ultrasensitive easy-to-use platforms has culminated in an increased interest for rapid response equipment-free alternatives to conventional diagnostic methods such as polymerase chain reaction, western-blot assay, etc. Furthermore, the poor stability and the bleaching behavior of several contemporary fluorescent reporters is a major obstacle in understanding the mechanism of viral infection thus retarding drug screening and development. Owing to their extraordinary surface-to-volume ratio as well as their quantum confinement and charge transfer properties, nanomaterials are desirable additives to sensing and imaging systems to amplify their signal response as well as temporal resolution. Their large surface area promotes biomolecular integration as well as efficacious signal transduction. Due to their hole mobility, photostability, resistance to photobleaching, and intense brightness, nanomaterials have a considerable edge over organic dyes for single virus tracking. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art of combining carbon-allotrope, inorganic and organic-based nanomaterials with virus sensing and tracking methods, starting with the impact of human pathogenic viruses on the society. We address how different nanomaterials can be used in various virus sensing platforms (e.g. lab-on-a-chip, paper, and smartphone-based point-of-care systems) as well as in virus tracking applications. We discuss the enormous potential for the use of nanomaterials as simple, versatile, and affordable tools for detecting and tracing viruses infectious to humans, animals, plants as well as bacteria. We present latest examples in this direction by emphasizing major advantages and limitations.

Magnetic nanoparticles and magnetic particle spectroscopy-based bioassays: a 15 year recap

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have unique physical and chemical properties, such as high surface area to volume ratio and size-related magnetism, which are completely different from their bulk materials. Benefiting from the facile synthesis and chemical modification strategies, MNPs have been widely studied for applications in nanomedicine. Herein, we firstly summarized the designs of MNPs from the perspectives of materials and physicochemical properties tailored for biomedical applications. Magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS), first reported in 2006, has flourished as an independent platform for many biological and biomedical applications. It has been extensively reported as a versatile platform for a variety of bioassays along with the artificially designed MNPs, where the MNPs serve as magnetic nanoprobes to specifically probe target analytes from fluid samples. In this review, the mechanisms and theories of different MPS platforms realizing volumetric- and surface-based bioassays are discussed. Some representative works of MPS platforms for applications such as disease diagnosis, food safety and plant pathology monitoring, drug screening, thrombus maturity assessments are reviewed. At the end of this review, we commented on the rapid growth and booming of MPS-based bioassays in its first 15 years. We also prospected opportunities and challenges that portable MPS devices face in the rapidly growing demand for fast, inexpensive, and easy-to-use biometric techniques.

Research Progress in the Early Warning of Chicken Diseases by Monitoring Clinical Symptoms

Global animal protein consumption has been steadily increasing as a result of population growth and the increasing demand for nutritious diets. The poultry industry provides a large portion of meat and eggs for human consumption. The early detection and warning of poultry infectious diseases play a critical role in the poultry breeding and production systems, improving animal welfare and reducing losses. However, inadequate methods for the early detection and prevention of infectious diseases in poultry farms sometimes fail to prevent decreased productivity and even widespread mortality. The health status of poultry is often reflected by its individual physiological, physical and behavioral clinical symptoms, such as higher body temperature resulting from fever, abnormal vocalization caused by respiratory disease and abnormal behaviors due to pathogenic infection. Therefore, the use of technologies for symptom detection can monitor the health status of broilers and laying hens in a continuous, noninvasive and automated way, and potentially assist in the early warning decision-making process. This review summarized recent literature on poultry disease detection and highlighted clinical symptom-monitoring technologies for sick poultry. The review concluded that current technologies are already showing their superiority to manual inspection, but the clinical symptom-based monitoring systems have not been fully utilized for on-farm early detection.

Biological sensing using anomalous hall effect devices

This paper outlines an approach to biological sensing involving the use of spintronic devices to sense magnetic particles attached to biological carriers. We developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based Anomalous Hall Effect magnetic sensor via surface functionalization using Triethoxysilylundecanal (TESUD). The proposed sensor uses a CoFeB/MgO heterostructure with a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Through several sets of magnetic layer thickness, this work also explored the optimization process of ferromagnetic layer used. Our spintronics-based biosensor is compatible with semiconductor fabrication technology and can be effectively miniaturized to integrate with semiconductor chips, which has the advantage of reduced manufacturing cost and reduced power consumption. The proposed sensor provides real-time measurement results and it is competitive to conventional biological colorimetric measurement systems in terms of accuracy and immediacy.

Giant Magnetoresistance Biosensors in Biomedical Applications

The giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect has seen flourishing development from theory to application in the last three decades since its discovery in 1988. Nowadays, commercial devices based on the GMR effect, such as hard-disk drives, biosensors, magnetic field sensors, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), etc., are available in the market, by virtue of the advances in state-of-the-art thin-film deposition and micro- and nanofabrication techniques. Different types of GMR biosensor arrays with superior sensitivity and robustness are available at a lower cost for a wide variety of biomedical applications. In this paper, we review the recent advances in GMR-based biomedical applications including disease diagnosis, genotyping, food and drug regulation, brain and cardiac mapping, etc. The GMR magnetic multilayer structure, spin valve, and magnetic granular structure, as well as fundamental theories of the GMR effect, are introduced at first. The emerging topic of flexible GMR for wearable biosensing is also included. Different GMR pattern designs, sensor surface functionalization, bioassay strategies, and on-chip accessories for improved GMR performances are reviewed. It is foreseen that combined with the state-of-the-art complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) electronics, GMR biosensors hold great promise in biomedicine, particularly for point-of-care (POC) disease diagnosis and wearable devices for real-time health monitoring.

New approach in SARS-CoV-2 surveillance using biosensor technology: a review

Biosensors are analytical tools that transform the bio-signal into an observable response. Biosensors are effective for early detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection because they target viral antigens to assess clinical development and provide information on the severity and critical trends of infection. The biosensors are capable of being on-site, fast, and extremely sensitive to the target viral antigen, opening the door for early detection of SARS-CoV-2. They can screen individuals in hospitals, airports, and other crowded locations. Microfluidics and nanotechnology are promising cornerstones for the development of biosensor-based techniques. Recently, due to high selectivity, simplicity, low cost, and reliability, the production of biosensor instruments have attracted considerable interest. This review article precisely provides the extensive scientific advancement and intensive look of basic principles and implementation of biosensors in SARS-CoV-2 surveillance, especially for human health. In this review, the importance of biosensors including Optical, Electrochemical, Piezoelectric, Microfluidic, Paper-based biosensors, Immunosensors, and Nano-Biosensors in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 has been underscored. Smartphone biosensors and calorimetric strips that target antibodies or antigens should be developed immediately to combat the rapidly spreading SARS-CoV-2. Wearable biosensors can constantly monitor patients, which is a highly desired feature of biosensors. Finally, we summarized the literature, outlined new approaches and future directions in diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 by biosensor-based techniques.

Advanced Point-of-Care Testing Technologies for Human Acute Respiratory Virus Detection

The ever-growing global threats to human life caused by the human acute respiratory virus (RV) infections have cost billions of lives, created a significant economic burden, and shaped society for centuries. The timely response to emerging RVs could save human lives and reduce the medical care burden. The development of RV detection technologies is essential for potentially preventing RV pandemic and epidemics. However, commonly used detection technologies lack sensitivity, specificity, and speed, thus often failing to provide the rapid turnaround times. To address this problem, new technologies are devised to address the performance inadequacies of the traditional methods. These emerging technologies offer improvements in convenience, speed, flexibility, and portability of point-of-care test (POCT). Herein, recent developments in POCT are comprehensively reviewed for eight typical acute respiratory viruses. This review discusses the challenges and opportunities of various recognition and detection strategies and discusses these according to their detection principles, including nucleic acid amplification, optical POCT, electrochemistry, lateral flow assays, microfluidics, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and microarrays. The importance of limits of detection, throughput, portability, and specificity when testing clinical samples in resource-limited settings is emphasized. Finally, the evaluation of commercial POCT kits for both essential RV diagnosis and clinical-oriented practices is included.

Pandemics past, present, and future: Their impact on oral health care

BACKGROUND

Pandemics have significantly modified our societal behaviour over the millennia, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no exception.

TYPES OF ARTICLES REVIEWED

In this article, the authors review the history of pandemics, the probable reasons for their emergence, and the COVID-19 pandemic due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants, as well as its possible impact on dentistry during the postpandemic period.

RESULTS

There are multiple reasons why catastrophic pandemics occur due to new infectious organisms that cross the species barrier from animals to humans. These include, population explosion, mass migration, and prolonged survival of debilitated and susceptible cohorts on various immunosuppressants. Coupled with global warming and the resultant loss of habitats, such vicissitudes of humans and nature lead to microbes evolving and mutating at an exponential pace, paving the way for pandemics. The contemporary epidemics and pandemics beginning with the HIV pandemic have modulated dentistry beyond recognition, now with assiduous and robust infection control measures in place.

CONCLUSIONS AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Because COVID-19 may become an endemic disease, particularly due to emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants the dental community should adopt modified infection control measures, teledentistry, and point-of-care diagnostics, among other measures. It is likely, that clinical ecosystems in future would be rendered even safer by predicting how pathogens evolve and priming the human immune system for the next wave of microbial combatants through vaccines produced using deep mutational scanning in which artificial intelligence and machine learning can predict the next variants even before their arrival.

Operational Parameters for Sub-Nano Tesla Field Resolution of PHMR Sensors in Harsh Environments

The resolution of planar-Hall magnetoresistive (PHMR) sensors was investigated in the frequency range from 0.5 Hz to 200 Hz in terms of its sensitivity, average noise level, and detectivity. Analysis of the sensor sensitivity and voltage noise response was performed by varying operational parameters such as sensor geometrical architectures, sensor configurations, sensing currents, and temperature. All the measurements of PHMR sensors were carried out under both constant current (CC) and constant voltage (CV) modes. In the present study, Barkhausen noise was revealed in 1/f noise component and found less significant in the PHMR sensor configuration. Under measured noise spectral density at optimized conditions, the best magnetic field detectivity was achieved better than 550 pT/√Hz at 100 Hz and close to 1.1 nT/√Hz at 10 Hz for a tri-layer multi-ring PHMR sensor in an unshielded environment. Furthermore, the promising feasibility and possible routes for further improvement of the sensor resolution are discussed.

Magnetic Particle Spectroscopy with One-Stage Lock-In Implementation for Magnetic Bioassays with Improved Sensitivities

In recent years, magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS) has become a highly sensitive and versatile sensing technique for quantitative bioassays. It relies on the dynamic magnetic responses of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) for the detection of target analytes in the liquid phase. There are many research studies reporting the application of MPS for detecting a variety of analytes including viruses, toxins, nucleic acids, and so forth. Herein, we report a modified version of the MPS platform with the addition of a one-stage lock-in design to remove the feedthrough signals induced by external driving magnetic fields, thus capturing only MNP responses for improved system sensitivity. This one-stage lock-in MPS system is able to detect as low as 781 ng multi-core Nanomag50 iron oxide MNPs (micromod Partikeltechnologie GmbH) and 78 ng single-core SHB30 iron oxide MNPs (Ocean NanoTech). We first demonstrated the performance of this MPS system for bioassay-related applications. Using the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as a model, we have achieved a detection limit of 125 nM (equal to 5 pmole) for detecting spike protein molecules in the liquid phase. In addition, using a streptavidin-biotin binding system as a proof-of-concept, we show that these single-core SHB30 MNPs can be used for Brownian relaxation-based bioassays while the multi-core Nanomag50 cannot be used. The effects of MNP amount on the concentration-dependent response profiles for detecting streptavidin were also investigated. Results show that by using a lower concentration/ amount of MNPs, concentration-response curves shift to a lower concentration/amount of target analytes. This lower concentration-response indicates the possibility of improved bioassay sensitivities by using lower amounts of MNPs.

Current Progress of Magnetoresistance Sensors

Magnetoresistance (MR) is the variation of a material’s resistivity under the presence of external magnetic fields. Reading heads in hard disk drives (HDDs) are the most common applications of MR sensors. Since the discovery of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) in the 1980s and the application of GMR reading heads in the 1990s, the MR sensors lead to the rapid developments of the HDDs’ storage capacity. Nowadays, MR sensors are employed in magnetic storage, position sensing, current sensing, non-destructive monitoring, and biomedical sensing systems. MR sensors are used to transfer the variation of the target magnetic fields to other signals such as resistance change. This review illustrates the progress of developing nanoconstructed MR materials/structures. Meanwhile, it offers an overview of current trends regarding the applications of MR sensors. In addition, the challenges in designing/developing MR sensors with enhanced performance and cost-efficiency are discussed in this review.

Two-Dimensional-Material-Based Field-Effect Transistor Biosensor for Detecting COVID-19 Virus (SARS-CoV-2)

The emergence of rapidly expanding infectious diseases such as coronavirus (COVID-19) demands effective biosensors that can promptly detect and recognize the pathogens. Field-effect transistors based on semiconducting two-dimensional (2D) materials (2D-FETs) have been identified as potential candidates for rapid and label-free sensing applications. This is because any perturbation of such atomically thin 2D channels can significantly impact their electronic transport properties. Here, we report the use of FET based on semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) WSe2 as a promising biosensor for the rapid and sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. The sensor is created by functionalizing the WSe2 monolayers with a monoclonal antibody against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and exhibits a detection limit of down to 25 fg/μL in 0.01X phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Comprehensive theoretical and experimental studies, including density functional theory, atomic force microscopy, Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopies, and electronic transport properties, were performed to characterize and explain the device performance. The results demonstrate that TMDC-based 2D-FETs can potentially serve as sensitive and selective biosensors for the rapid detection of infectious diseases.

Bridge Resistance Compensation for Noise Reduction in a Self-Balanced PHMR Sensor

Advanced microelectromechanical system (MEMS) magnetic field sensor applications demand ultra-high detectivity down to the low magnetic fields. To enhance the detection limit of the magnetic sensor, a resistance compensator integrated self-balanced bridge type sensor was devised for low-frequency noise reduction in the frequency range of 0.5 Hz to 200 Hz. The self-balanced bridge sensor was a NiFe (10 nm)/IrMn (10 nm) bilayer structure in the framework of planar Hall magnetoresistance (PHMR) technology. The proposed resistance compensator integrated with a self-bridge sensor architecture presented a compact and cheaper alternative to marketable MEMS MR sensors, adjusting the offset voltage compensation at the wafer level, and led to substantial improvement in the sensor noise level. Moreover, the sensor noise components of electronic and magnetic origin were identified by measuring the sensor noise spectral density as a function of temperature and operating power. The lowest achievable noise in this device architecture was estimated at ~3.34 nV/Hz at 100 Hz.

Rapid and Easy-to-Use Method for Accurate Characterization of Target Binding and Kinetics of Magnetic Particle Bioconjugates for Biosensing

The ever-increasing use of magnetic particle bioconjugates (MPB) in biosensors calls for methods of comprehensive characterization of their interaction with targets. Label-free optical sensors commonly used for studying inter-molecular interactions have limited potential for MPB because of their large size and multi-component non-transparent structure. We present an easy-to-use method that requires only three 20-min express measurements to determine the key parameters for selection of optimal MPB for a biosensor: kinetic and equilibrium characteristics, and a fraction of biomolecules on the MPB surface that are capable of active targeting. The method also provides a prognostic dependence of MPB targeting efficiency upon interaction duration and sample volume. These features are possible due to joining a magnetic lateral flow assay, a highly sensitive sensor for MPB detection by the magnetic particle quantification technique, and a novel mathematical model that explicitly describes the MPB-target interactions and does not comprise parameters to be fitted additionally. The method was demonstrated by experiments on MPB targeting of cardiac troponin I and staphylococcal enterotoxin B. The validation by an independent label-free technique of spectral-correlation interferometry showed good correlation between the results obtained by both methods. The presented method can be applied to other targets for faster development and selection of MPB for affinity sensors, analytical technologies, and realization of novel concepts of MPB-based biosensing in vivo.

A scope of mobile health solutions in COVID-19 pandemics

Background and aim

COVID-19 has become an international emergency. The use of digital solutions can be effective in managing, preventing, and overcoming the further spread of infectious disease outbreaks. Accordingly, the use of mobile-health (m-health) technologies has the potential to promote public health. This review aimed to study the application of m-health solutions for the management of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Methods

The search strategy was done in Medline (PubMed), Embase, IEEE, and Google Scholar by using related keywords to m-health and COVID-19 on July 6, 2020. English papers that used m-health technologies for the COVID-19 outbreak were included.

Results

Of the 2046 papers identified, 16 were included in this study. M-health had been used for various aims such as early detection, fast screening, patient monitoring, information sharing, education, and treatment in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. M-health solutions were classified into four use case categories: prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and protection. The mobile phone-based app and short text massaging were the most frequently used modalities, followed by wearables, portable screening devices, mobile-telehealth, and continuous telemetry monitor during the pandemics.

Conclusion

It appears that m-health technologies played a positive role during the COVID-19 outbreak. Given the extensive capabilities of m-health solutions, investigation and use of all potential applications of m-health should be considered for combating the current Epidemics and mitigating its negative impacts.

Public-Health-Driven Microfluidic Technologies: From Separation to Detection

Separation and detection are ubiquitous in our daily life and they are two of the most important steps toward practical biomedical diagnostics and industrial applications. A deep understanding of working principles and examples of separation and detection enables a plethora of applications from blood test and air/water quality monitoring to food safety and biosecurity; none of which are irrelevant to public health. Microfluidics can separate and detect various particles/aerosols as well as cells/viruses in a cost-effective and easy-to-operate manner. There are a number of papers reviewing microfluidic separation and detection, but to the best of our knowledge, the two topics are normally reviewed separately. In fact, these two themes are closely related with each other from the perspectives of public health: understanding separation or sorting technique will lead to the development of new detection methods, thereby providing new paths to guide the separation routes. Therefore, the purpose of this review paper is two-fold: reporting the latest developments in the application of microfluidics for separation and outlining the emerging research in microfluidic detection. The dominating microfluidics-based passive separation methods and detection methods are discussed, along with the future perspectives and challenges being discussed. Our work inspires novel development of separation and detection methods for the benefits of public health.

Point-of-care diagnostics for infectious diseases: From methods to devices

The current widespread of COVID-19 all over the world, which is caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus, has again emphasized the importance of development of point-of-care (POC) diagnostics for timely prevention and control of the pandemic. Compared with labor- and time-consuming traditional diagnostic methods, POC diagnostics exhibit several advantages such as faster diagnostic speed, better sensitivity and specificity, lower cost, higher efficiency and ability of on-site detection. To achieve POC diagnostics, developing POC detection methods and correlated POC devices is the key and should be given top priority. The fast development of microfluidics, micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology, nanotechnology and materials science, have benefited the production of a series of portable, miniaturized, low cost and highly integrated POC devices for POC diagnostics of various infectious diseases. In this review, various POC detection methods for the diagnosis of infectious diseases, including electrochemical biosensors, fluorescence biosensors, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based biosensors, colorimetric biosensors, chemiluminiscence biosensors, surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based biosensors, and magnetic biosensors, were first summarized. Then, recent progresses in the development of POC devices including lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices, lab-on-a-disc (LOAD) devices, microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs), lateral flow devices, miniaturized PCR devices, and isothermal nucleic acid amplification (INAA) devices, were systematically discussed. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives for the design and development of POC detection methods and correlated devices were presented. The ultimate goal of this review is to provide new insights and directions for the future development of POC diagnostics for the management of infectious diseases and contribute to the prevention and control of infectious pandemics like COVID-19.

Investigation of Commercial Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: Structural and Magnetic Property Characterization

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been extensively used as tiny heating sources in magnetic hyperthermia therapy, contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging, tracers in magnetic particle imaging, carriers for drug/gene delivery, etc. There have emerged many MNP/microbead suppliers since the past decade, such as Ocean NanoTech, Nanoprobes, US Research Nanomaterials, Miltenyi Biotec, micromod Partikeltechnologie GmbH, nanoComposix, and so forth. In this paper, we report the physical and magnetic characterizations on iron oxide nanoparticle products from Ocean NanoTech. Standard characterization tools such as vibrating-sample magnetometry, X-ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and zeta potential analysis are used to provide MNP customers and researchers with an overview of these iron oxide nanoparticle products. In addition, the dynamic magnetic responses of these iron oxide nanoparticles in aqueous solutions are investigated under low- and high-frequency alternating magnetic fields, giving a standardized operating procedure for characterizing the MNPs from Ocean NanoTech, thereby yielding the best of MNPs for different applications.

A Portable Magnetic Particle Spectrometer for Future Rapid and Wash-Free Bioassays

Nowadays, there is an increasing demand for more accessible routine diagnostics for patients with respect to high accuracy, ease of use, and low cost. However, the quantitative and high accuracy bioassays in large hospitals and laboratories usually require trained technicians and equipment that is both bulky and expensive. In addition, the multistep bioassays and long turnaround time could severely affect the disease surveillance and control especially in pandemics such as influenza and COVID-19. In view of this, a portable, quantitative bioassay device will be valuable in regions with scarce medical resources and help relieve burden on local healthcare systems. Herein, we introduce the MagiCoil diagnostic device, an inexpensive, portable, quantitative, and rapid bioassay platform based on the magnetic particle spectrometer (MPS) technique. MPS detects the dynamic magnetic responses of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and uses the harmonics from oscillating MNPs as metrics for sensitive and quantitative bioassays. This device does not require trained technicians to operate and employs a fully automatic, one-step, and wash-free assay with a user friendly smartphone interface. Using a streptavidin-biotin binding system as a model, we show that the detection limit of the current portable device for streptavidin is 64 nM (equal to 5.12 pmole). In addition, this MPS technique is very versatile and allows for the detection of different diseases just by changing the surface modifications on MNPs. Although MPS-based bioassays show high sensitivities as reported in many literatures, at the current stage, this portable device faces insufficient sensitivity and needs further improvements. It is foreseen that this kind of portable device can transform the multistep, laboratory-based bioassays to one-step field testing in nonclinical settings such as schools, homes, offices, etc.

Magnetic Resistance Sensory System for the Quantitative Measurement of Morphine

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is characterized by fast detection, simple use, and cost efficiency. As the focus of healthcare shifts to precision medicine, population health, and chronic disease management, the potential impact of POCT has increased significantly in the past decade. Immunochromatographic test strips (ICTSs) are currently the most promising POCT diagnostic format due to the advantages of fast detection, simple operation and cost-effective. The lateral flow immune analyzer (LFIA) system that uses magnetic resistance (MR) sensors as readers and magnetic nanoparticle labeling materials has attracted wide attention due to its high sensitivity and specificity. This paper designs a quantitative lateral flow immunoassay instrument for MR sensors using InSb single crystals as magnetoresistive elements. MR sensors detect samples of ICTSs labeled with superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SMNPs). The collected weak magnetic signal is processed by the designed amplifying circuit and software algorithm. As a result, the MR system can quantitatively detect the concentration of morphine (MOP), and has good repeatability. Compared with other optical detection instruments, the system has good specificity because there is very low background noise in the detection sample. The size of the whole system is [Formula: see text], and it has the characteristics of compactness and fast detection.

Magnetic-Nanosensor-Based Virus and Pathogen Detection Strategies before and during COVID-19

The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is a threat to the global healthcare system and economic security. As of July 2020, no specific drugs or vaccines are yet available for COVID-19; a fast and accurate diagnosis for SARS-CoV-2 is essential in slowing the spread of COVID-19 and for efficient implementation of control and containment strategies. Magnetic nanosensing is an emerging topic representing the frontiers of current biosensing and magnetic areas. The past decade has seen rapid growth in applying magnetic tools for biological and biomedical applications. Recent advances in magnetic nanomaterials and nanotechnologies have transformed current diagnostic methods to nanoscale and pushed the detection limit to early-stage disease diagnosis. Herein, this review covers the literature of magnetic nanosensors for virus and pathogen detection before COVID-19. We review popular magnetic nanosensing techniques including magnetoresistance, magnetic particle spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance. Magnetic point-of-care diagnostic kits are also reviewed aiming at developing plug-and-play diagnostics to manage the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak as well as preventing future epidemics. In addition, other platforms that use magnetic nanomaterials as auxiliary tools for enhanced pathogen and virus detection are also covered. The goal of this review is to inform the researchers of diagnostic and surveillance platforms for SARS-CoV-2 and their performances.

Diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 detection: A comprehensive review of the FDA-EUA COVID-19 testing landscape

The rapidly spreading outbreak of COVID-19 disease is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. As of June 17, 2020, this virus has infected over 8.2 million people but ranges in symptom severity, making it difficult to assess its overall infection rate. There is a need for rapid and accurate diagnostics to better monitor and prevent the spread of COVID-19. In this review, we present and evaluate two main types of diagnostics with FDA-EUA status for COVID-19: nucleic acid testing for detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, and serological assays for detection of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG and IgM patient antibodies, along with the necessary sample preparation for accurate diagnoses. In particular, we cover and compare tests such as the CDC 2019-nCoV RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel, Cellex's qSARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM Rapid Test, and point-of-care tests such as Abbott's ID NOW COVID-19 Test. Antibody testing is especially important in understanding the prevalence of the virus in the community and to identify those who have gained immunity. We conclude by highlighting the future of COVID-19 diagnostics, which include the need for quantitative testing and the development of emerging biosensors as point-of-care tests.

Spin current nano-oscillator (SCNO) as a potential frequency-based, ultra-sensitive magnetic biosensor: a simulation study

This work is a micromagnetic simulation-based study on the GHz-frequency ferromagnetic resonances (FMR) for the detection of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) using spin current nano-oscillator (SCNO) operating in precession mode. Capture antibody-antigen-detection antibody-MNP complex on the SCNO surface generates magnetic fields that modify the FMR peaks and generate measurable resonance peak shifts. Moreover, our results strongly indicate the position-sensitive behavior of the SCNO biosensor and demonstrate ways to eradicate this effect to facilitate improved bio-sensing. Additionally, a study has been made on how MNPs with different sizes can alter the SCNO device performance. This simulation-based study on the SCNO device shows the feasibility of a frequency-based nano-biosensor with the sensitivity of detecting a single MNP, even in presence of background noise.

Monitoring Chemistry In Situ with a Smart Stirrer: A Magnetic Stirrer Bar with an Integrated Process Monitoring System

Inspired by the miniaturization and efficiency of the sensors for telemetry, we have developed a device that provides the functionalities of laboratory magnetic stirring and integrated multisensor monitoring of various chemical reaction parameters. The device, called "Smart Stirrer", when immersed in a solution, can in situ monitor physical properties of the chemical reaction such as the temperature, conductivity, visible spectrum, opaqueness, stirring rate, and viscosity. This data is transmitted real-time over a wireless connection to an external system, such as a PC or smartphone. The flexible open-source software architecture allows effortless programming of the operation parameters of the Smart Stirrer in accordance with the end-user needs. The concept of the Smart Stirrer device with an integrated process monitoring system has been demonstrated in a series of experiments showing its capability for many hours of continuous telemetry with fine accuracy and a high data rate. Such a device can be used in conventional research laboratories, industrial production lines, flow reactors, and others where it can log the state of the process to ensure repeatability and operational consistency.

Opportunities and Challenges for Biosensors and Nanoscale Analytical Tools for Pandemics: COVID-19

Biosensors and nanoscale analytical tools have shown huge growth in literature in the past 20 years, with a large number of reports on the topic of 'ultrasensitive', 'cost-effective', and 'early detection' tools with a potential of 'mass-production' cited on the web of science. Yet none of these tools are commercially available in the market or practically viable for mass production and use in pandemic diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this context, we review the technological challenges and opportunities of current bio/chemical sensors and analytical tools by critically analyzing the bottlenecks which have hindered the implementation of advanced sensing technologies in pandemic diseases. We also describe in brief COVID-19 by comparing it with other pandemic strains such as that of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) for the identification of features that enable biosensing. Moreover, we discuss visualization and characterization tools that can potentially be used not only for sensing applications but also to assist in speeding up the drug discovery and vaccine development process. Furthermore, we discuss the emerging monitoring mechanism, namely wastewater-based epidemiology, for early warning of the outbreak, focusing on sensors for rapid and on-site analysis of SARS-CoV2 in sewage. To conclude, we provide holistic insights into challenges associated with the quick translation of sensing technologies, policies, ethical issues, technology adoption, and an overall outlook of the role of the sensing technologies in pandemics.

Irregularly Shaped Iron Nitride Nanoparticles as a Potential Candidate for Biomedical Applications: From Synthesis to Characterization

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been extensively used in drug/gene delivery, hyperthermia therapy, magnetic particle imaging (MPI), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic bioassays, and so forth. With proper surface chemical modifications, physicochemically stable and nontoxic MNPs are emerging contrast agents and tracers for in vivo MRI and MPI applications. Herein, we report the high magnetic moment, irregularly shaped γ'-Fe4N nanoparticles for enhanced hyperthermia therapy and T2 contrast agent for MRI application. The static and dynamic magnetic properties of γ'-Fe4N nanoparticles are characterized by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and a magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS) system, respectively. Compared to the γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles, γ'-Fe4N nanoparticles show at least three times higher saturation magnetization, which, as a result, gives rise to the stronger dynamic magnetic responses as proved in the MPS measurement results. In addition, γ'-Fe4N nanoparticles are functionalized with an oleic acid layer by a wet mechanical milling process. The morphologies of as-milled nanoparticles are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and nanoparticle tracking analyzer (NTA). We report that with proper surface chemical modification and tuning on morphologies, γ'-Fe4N nanoparticles could be used as tiny heating sources for hyperthermia and contrast agents for MRI applications with minimum dose.

Current and Future Point-of-Care Tests for Emerging and New Respiratory Viruses and Future Perspectives

The availability of pathogen-specific treatment options for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) increased the need for rapid diagnostic tests. Besides, retrospective studies, improved lab-based detection methods and the intensified search for new viruses since the beginning of the twenty-first century led to the discovery of several novel respiratory viruses. Among them are human bocavirus (HBoV), human coronaviruses (HCoV-HKU1, -NL63), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), rhinovirus type C (RV-C), and human polyomaviruses (KIPyV, WUPyV). Additionally, new viruses like SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV), novel strains of influenza virus A and B, and (most recently) SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have emerged. Although clinical presentation may be similar among different viruses, associated symptoms may range from a mild cold to a severe respiratory illness, and thus require a fast and reliable diagnosis. The increasing number of commercially available rapid point-of-care tests (POCTs) for respiratory viruses illustrates both the need for this kind of tests but also the problem, i.e., that the majority of such assays has significant limitations. In this review, we summarize recently published characteristics of POCTs and discuss their implications for the treatment of RTIs. The second key aspect of this work is a description of new and innovative diagnostic techniques, ranging from biosensors to novel portable and current lab-based nucleic acid amplification methods with the potential future use in point-of-care settings. While prototypes for some methods already exist, other ideas are still experimental, but all of them give an outlook of what can be expected as the next generation of POCTs.

Magnetic Particle Spectroscopy for Detection of Influenza A Virus Subtype H1N1

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with proper surface functionalization have been extensively applied as labels for magnetic immunoassays, carriers for controlled drug/gene delivery, tracers and contrasts for magnetic imaging, etc. Here, we introduce a new biosensing scheme based on magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS) and the self-assembly of MNPs to quantitatively detect H1N1 nucleoprotein molecules. MPS monitors the harmonics of oscillating MNPs as a metric for the freedom of rotational process, thus indicating the bound states of MNPs. These harmonics can be readily collected from nanogram quantities of iron oxide nanoparticles within 10 s. The H1N1 nucleoprotein molecule hosts multiple different epitopes that forms binding sites for many IgG polyclonal antibodies. Anchoring IgG polyclonal antibodies onto MNPs triggers the cross-linking between MNPs and H1N1 nucleoprotein molecules, thereby forming MNP self-assemblies. Using MPS and the self-assembly of MNPs, we were able to detect as low as 44 nM (4.4 pmole) H1N1 nucleoprotein. In addition, the morphologies and the hydrodynamic sizes of the MNP self-assemblies are characterized to verify the MPS results. Different MNP self-assembly models such as classical cluster, open ring tetramer, and chain model as well as multimers (from dimer to pentamer) are proposed in this paper. Herein, we claim the feasibility of using MPS and the self-assembly of MNPs as a new biosensing scheme for detecting ultralow concentrations of target biomolecules, which can be employed as rapid, sensitive, and wash-free magnetic immunoassays.

Magnetic Particles: Their Applications from Sample Preparations to Biosensing Platforms

The growing interest in magnetic materials as a universal tool has been shown by an increasing number of scientific publications regarding magnetic materials and its various applications. Substantial progress has been recently made on the synthesis of magnetic iron oxide particles in terms of size, chemical composition, and surface chemistry. In addition, surface layers of polymers, silica, biomolecules, etc., on magnetic particles, can be modified to obtain affinity to target molecules. The developed magnetic iron oxide particles have been significantly utilized for diagnostic applications, such as sample preparations and biosensing platforms, leading to the selectivity and sensitivity against target molecules and the ease of use in the sensing systems. For the process of sample preparations, the magnetic particles do assist in target isolation from biological environments, having non-specific molecules and undesired molecules. Moreover, the magnetic particles can be easily applied for various methods of biosensing devices, such as optical, electrochemical, and magnetic phenomena-based methods, and also any methods combined with microfluidic systems. Here we review the utilization of magnetic materials in the isolation/preconcentration of various molecules and cells, and their use in various techniques for diagnostic biosensors that may greatly contribute to future innovation in point-of-care and high-throughput automation systems.

Performance Validation of a Planar Hall Resistance Biosensor through Beta-Amyloid Biomarker

Magnetic sensors have great potential for biomedical applications, particularly, detection of magnetically-labeled biomolecules and cells. On the basis of the advantage of the planar Hall effect sensor, which consists of improved thermal stability as compared with other magnetic sensors, we have designed a portable biosensor platform that can detect magnetic labels without applying any external magnetic field. The trilayer sensor, with a composition of Ta (5 nm)/NiFe (10 nm)/Cu (x = 0 nm~1.2 nm)/IrMn (10 nm)/Ta (5 nm), was deposited on a silicon wafer using photolithography and a sputtering system, where the optimized sensor sensitivity was 6 μV/(Oe∙mA). The detection of the magnetic label was done by comparing the signals obtained in first harmonic AC mode (1f mode) using an external magnetic field and in the second harmonic AC mode (2f mode) with a self-field generated by current passing through the sensor. In addition, a technique for the β-amyloid biomarker-based antibody-antigen sandwich model was demonstrated for the detection of a series of concentrations of magnetic labels using the self-field mode method, where the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was high. The generated self-field was enough to detect an immobilized magnetic tag without an additional external magnetic field. Hence, it could be possible to reduce the device size to use the point-of-care testing using a portable circuit system.

Advances in Magnetoresistive Biosensors

Magnetoresistance (MR) based biosensors are considered promising candidates for the detection of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) as biomarkers and the biomagnetic fields. MR biosensors have been widely used in the detection of proteins, DNAs, as well as the mapping of cardiovascular and brain signals. In this review, we firstly introduce three different MR devices from the fundamental perspectives, followed by the fabrication and surface modification of the MR sensors. The sensitivity of the MR sensors can be improved by optimizing the sensing geometry, engineering the magnetic bioassays on the sensor surface, and integrating the sensors with magnetic flux concentrators and microfluidic channels. Different kinds of MR-based bioassays are also introduced. Subsequently, the research on MR biosensors for the detection of protein biomarkers and genotyping is reviewed. As a more recent application, brain mapping based on MR sensors is summarized in a separate section with the discussion of both the potential benefits and challenges in this new field. Finally, the integration of MR biosensors with flexible substrates is reviewed, with the emphasis on the fabrication techniques to obtain highly shapeable devices while maintaining comparable performance to their rigid counterparts.