Rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis using a three-dimensional nanofiber paper-based electrochemical sensor

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death caused by a single infectious pathogen. Currently, a variety of conventional methods are widely used for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( Mtb ) or diagnosing TB, which have made significant contributions to controlling the TB epidemic. However, these existing TB diagnostic methods still face some difficulties and cannot provide rapid, low-cost, high-sensitivity, and high-accuracy diagnostic results simultaneously. Therefore, it is imperative to develop new TB diagnostic methods that are rapid, cost-effective, and sensitive through rigorous evaluation of potential biomarkers and new detection methods. In this study, a three-dimensional nanofiber (3D NFs) paper-based electrochemical sensor was prepared using electrospinning technology, and Mtb secretory protein Ag85B was utilized as a biomarker to achieve point-of-care detection of TB clinical samples. The 3D NFs paper-based electrochemical sensor can achieve a wide range of Bacillus Calmette–Guérin detection of 10 1 -10 8 CFU/mL with good specificity. When the clinical bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples were diluted 10 3 or 10 4 times, the 3D NFs paper-based electrochemical sensor could detect TB clinical samples with a sensitivity of up to 92.9 % and a specificity of 60 % within 5 min. 3D NFs paper-based electrochemical sensor has the advantages of low cost, high sensitivity, and fast response speed, and can realize rapid preliminary screening of TB patients.