New Low-Cost Technique Detects Rotavirus

A new measurement method that increases the capacity to detect biological substances such as Rotavirus using optical biosensors has been discovered and patented.

The system will enhance the detection capacity of small concentrations of Rotavirus due to a new way to assess the biosensing response applied to an interferometric device allowing the detection of both the presence of the virus and its antibody.


Scientists at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain) have focused their interests on label-free optical biosensors that do not require the presence of enzymes that fix either the substance to be detected or the marker responsible for any detectable physical phenomenon. These biosensors consist of smooth or micro-nano textured surfaces made with a polymer whose surface has been chemically treated to be similar to a bioreceptor.

Once the surface is coated by the bioreceptor, the biosensor is sensitive and selective to a determined type of biomolecule. When the substance to detect is recognized by a bioreceptor this substance produces a change on its optical response or transduction. This change is usually the movement of the maximum or minimum position of the interferometric pattern. An easy interferometric system based on two Fabry Perot interferometers was tested. One interferometer is used as a reference and the other one captures the substance or virus. Besides, different options of data are analyzed as an alternative to the traditional position shift of the endpoints. This system is easy to install in compact devices and can be used by non-expert users.

The investigators have proved that by using transduction as a variable, the variation of emitted overall intensity at intervals of specific wave length, the sensitivity and detection limit of these biosensors can be significantly improved. All this can reach truly competitive levels for such a simple design. By using the proposed device and reading procedure, they could detect the presence of anti-Rotavirus in blood plasma or anti-Rotavirus as water contaminant. Due to its low cost compared to other methods such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, this technique constitutes a promising way to reduce child mortality in developing countries.

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