Point-of-care detection of Japanese encephalitis virus based on advanced electrochemical immunosensor

Abstract

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) causes acute inflammation of the brain affecting ∼68,000 annually in Asia. While conventional diagnostics like ELISA take days, this work developed an electrochemical immunosensor for rapid JEV detection at point-of-care. The sensor relied on carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) electrodeposited on screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCE) and covalently linked with anti-JEV antibodies. Systematic optimization resulted in the optimal antibody concentration of 20 μg/mL with 30 min incubation enabling detection down to 42 fg/mL. The dynamic range spanned 100 fg/mL to 100 ng/mL within analysis time of 30 min. The SPCE-based disposable strip format provided < 8 % variability across electrodes. The CNP interface lowered detection limit by 10x versus earlier nanomaterial-assisted JEV sensors owing to high surface area and conductivity. Potential field deployment challenges include antibody stability for prolonged storage, validation across larger clinical cohorts, ease-of-use via integration with microfluidics/smartphones. Further robustification can enable rapid screening at point-of-care during outbreaks in resource-limited settings.