Biosensors for waterborne viruses: Detection and removal.

Detection of waterborne viruses is important to eliminate and control their harmful effect as pathogens. Hence, the use of rapid and sensitive detection technologies is critically important as they can aid in investigating outbreaks and help in developing prevention strategies. To date range of viruses can contaminate drinking water sources, causing illnesses such as diarrhoea, pneumonia and gastroenteritis which can result in death. Due to their small size (nm) their complete removal from water can be difficult with current water treatment processes while being resistant to disinfectants. Available techniques for virus detection include filtration technologies, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and polymerase chain reaction. Although each technique has limitations, the use of biosensor technology with smart affinity materials and nanomaterials can show great potential in sensing viruses in water samples. This review reports on the latest technologies used for waterborne virus removal and detection with focus on rapid detection using biosensors.

Detection of Waterborne Viruses Using High Affinity Molecularly Imprinted Polymers.

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are artificial receptor ligands which can recognize and specifically bind to a target molecule. They are more resistant to chemical and biological damage and inactivation than antibodies. Therefore, target specific-MIP nanoparticles are aimed to develop and implemented to biosensors for the detection of biological toxic agents such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi toxins that cause many diseases and death due to the environmental contamination. For the first time, a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) targeting the bacteriophage MS2 as the template was investigated using a novel solid-phase synthesis method to obtain the artificial affinity ligand for the detection and removal of waterborne viruses through optical-based sensors. A high affinity between the artificial ligand and the target was found, and a regenerative MIP-based virus detection assay was successfully developed using a new surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-biosensor which provides an alternative technology for the specific detection and removal of waterborne viruses that lead to high disease and death rates all over the world.