A facile electrochemical biosensor for coronavirus RNA assay with silver deposition

Coronaviruses are highly infectious and pose a serious threat to human and animal healths. In this work, a facile electrochemical method based on Exonuclease III (Exo III) catalyzed digestion and silver deposition is developed for coronavirus RNA analysis. A magnetic separation procedure is performed to specifically identify target sequence and release single-stranded DNA modified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The nanoparticles can thus be immobilized at a screen-printed electrode and catalyze silver deposition for signal readout. This method allows sensitive analysis of PEDV and SARS-CoV-2 RNAs in the concentration range from 1 to 1000 nM with the limits of detection as low as 0.47 nM and 0.17 nM, respectively. Good specificities are demonstrated. Thus, the proposed method may have great potential use in the applications of coronaviruses analysis.