Advances in electrochemical biosensors for the diagnosis of tuberculosis: Perspectives for control and eradication of the disease

Abstract

Tuberculosis is a severe contagious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), whose epidemic has persisted since its discovery in 1882. Despite global efforts to combat tuberculosis, which include financial support for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, relapses of latent patients and an increase in cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis contribute to the non-eradication of the disease. Therefore, overcoming the difficulties in developing assays for point-of-care diagnosis has become a necessary priority in the fight against this pathogen. In this sense, substantial research efforts have been devoted to advancing electrochemical biosensors for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis and diagnosing Tuberculosis in centralized and decentralized settings. Thus, this work sought to address the main Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens that have been screening targets during the development of immunosensors and electrochemical genosensors for diagnosing tuberculosis, analyzing the manufacturing strategies, validation, and analytical characteristics of these devices. Here, an in-depth discussion is provided in pursuit of understanding the main advances and challenges in overcoming limitations in tuberculosis diagnosis, including cases of latent tuberculosis or co-infected patients. Finally, we present a technological prospection, where the main patents filed, and technological products related to tuberculosis diagnosis were evaluated. Therefore, this study’s scientific and technological survey revealed that biosensors aimed at diagnosing tuberculosis still need to overcome some difficulties for practical and safe use. Furthermore, the new insights described in this work reveal valuable information about monitoring biointeractions that can support the development of new methods for diagnosis of tuberculosis.