Quartz crystal microbalance-based biosensors as rapid diagnostic devices for infectious diseases

• Published in: Biosensors & bioelectronics 2020-11, Vol.168, p.112513-112513, Article 112513
• Main Authors: Lim, Hui Jean, Saha, Tridib, Tey, Beng Ti, Tan, Wen Siang, Ooi, Chien Wei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biosensing Techniques; Biosensor; Communicable Diseases - diagnosis; Diagnosis; Humans; Infectious disease; Influenza; Point-of-Care Systems; Quartz crystal microbalance; Quartz Crystal Microbalance Techniques; Virus
• ISSN: 0956-5663; 1873-4235; 1873-4235
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2020.112513

Infectious diseases are the ever-present threats to public health and the global economy. Accurate and timely diagnosis is crucial to impede the progression of a disease and break the chain of transmission. Conventional diagnostic techniques are typically time-consuming and costly, making them inefficient for early diagnosis of infections and inconvenient for use at the point of care. Developments of sensitive, rapid, and affordable diagnostic methods are necessary to improve the clinical management of infectious diseases. Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) systems have emerged as a robust biosensing platform due to their label-free mechanism, which allows the detection and quantification of a wide range of biomolecules. The high sensitivity and short detection time offered by QCM-based biosensors are attractive for the early detection of infections and the routine monitoring of disease progression. Herein, the strategies employed in QCM-based biosensors for the detection of infectious diseases are extensively reviewed, with a focus on prevalent diseases for which improved diagnostic techniques are in high demand. The challenges to the clinical application of QCM-based biosensors are highlighted, along with an outline of the future scope of research in QCM-based diagnostics. •QCM-based biosensors are promising tools for the rapid detection of infections.•Discussion of strategies for detecting disease biomarkers in QCM platforms.•Review of reported QCM-based biosensors for prevalent infectious diseases.•Overview of research opportunities in QCM-based diagnostics.•Microfluidic systems can boost the applicability of QCM for point-of-care diagnosis.