Recent Development in Detection Systems for Human Viral Pathogens from Clinical Samples with Special Reference to Biosensors

ABSTRACT

Over the last few decades, the emergence and re-emergence of various pathogenic viruses have significantly impacted human health. The continuous rise in cases with increasing mortality rates has driven the chase for effective treatment options and early diagnosis to combat this global health issue. Currently, used laboratory techniques for virus detection require complex equipment, trained personnel, and, most importantly, are time-consuming. In times of outbreaks and epidemics like COVID-19 and Ebola, easy-to-use and point-of-care tests, especially for developing and underdeveloped countries, are indispensable. This chapter explicitly discusses the availability of the detection methods for various human viral pathogens with their shortcomings and recent advancements in biosensors. With the ongoing improvement in biosensors, these hold important avenues for rapid, sensitive, and scalable devices for viral diagnostic purposes. The effectiveness of previously known and current approaches/devices/methods that utilize different principles for detection has also been reviewed here, with the listing of all the available tests for various human pathogens. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.