Premium
A rapid bio‐optical sensor for diagnosing Q fever in clinical specimens
Author(s) -
Koo Bonhan,
Jin Choong Eun,
Park Se Yoon,
Lee Tae Yoon,
Nam Jeonghun,
Jang YoungRock,
Kim Sun Mi,
Kim Ji Yeun,
Kim SungHan,
Shin Yong
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of biophotonics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.877
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1864-0648
pISSN - 1864-063X
DOI - 10.1002/jbio.201700167
Subject(s) - coxiella burnetii , q fever , virology , pathogen , molecular diagnostics , loop mediated isothermal amplification , transmission (telecommunications) , outbreak , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , dna , bioinformatics , computer science , telecommunications , genetics
Recent zoonotic outbreaks, such as Zika, Middle East respiratory syndrome and Ebola, have highlighted the need for rapid and accurate diagnostic assays that can be used to aid pathogen control. Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by the transmission of Coxiella burnetii that can cause serious illness in humans through aerosols and is considered a potential bioterrorism agent. However, the existing assays are not suitable for the detection of this pathogen due to its low levels in real samples. We here describe a rapid bio‐optical sensor for the accurate detection of Q fever and validate its clinical utility. By combining a bio‐optical sensor, that transduces the presence of the target DNA based on binding‐induced changes in the refractive index on the waveguide surface in a label‐free and real‐time manner, with isothermal DNA amplification, this new diagnostic tool offers a rapid (<20 min), 1‐step DNA amplification/detection method. We confirmed the clinical sensitivity (>90%) of the bio‐optical sensor by detecting C. burnetii in 11 formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded liver biopsy samples from acute Q fever hepatitis patients and in 16 blood plasma samples from patients in which Q fever is the cause of fever of unknown origin.