Fast and accurate pneumocystis pneumonia diagnosis in human samples using a label-free plasmonic biosensor

Pneumocystis jirovecii is a fungus responsible for human Pneumocystis pneumonia, one of the most severe infections encountered in immunodepressed individuals. The diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia continues to be challenging due to the absence of specific symptoms in infected patients. Moreover, t...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Calvo Lozano, Olalla|||0000-0001-5486-2237, Aviñó, Ana|||0000-0003-3047-738X, Friaza, Vicente|||0000-0002-2900-4334, Medina Escuela, Alfonso, Huertas, César S.|||0000-0002-3100-4034, Calderón, Enrique J.|||0000-0002-3166-5086, Eritja, Ramon|||0000-0001-5383-9334, Lechuga, Laura M.|||0000-0001-5187-5358
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:233959
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/233959
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.3390/NANO10061246
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:DNA capture
Pneumocystis jirovecii
Surface Plasmon Resonance
Clinical diagnosis
Optical biosensor
Triplex
Descripción
Sumario:Pneumocystis jirovecii is a fungus responsible for human Pneumocystis pneumonia, one of the most severe infections encountered in immunodepressed individuals. The diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia continues to be challenging due to the absence of specific symptoms in infected patients. Moreover, the standard diagnostic method employed for its diagnosis involves mainly PCR-based techniques, which besides being highly specific and sensitive, require specialized personnel and equipment and are time-consuming. Our aim is to demonstrate an optical biosensor methodology based on surface plasmon resonance to perform such diagnostics in an efficient and decentralized scheme. The biosensor methodology employs poly-purine reverse-Hoogsteen hairpin probes for the detection of the mitochondrial large subunit ribosomal RNA (mtLSU rRNA) gene, related to P. jirovecii detection. The biosensor device performs a real-time and label-free identification of the mtLSU rRNA gene with excellent selectivity and reproducibility, achieving limits of detection of around 2.11 nM. A preliminary evaluation of clinical samples showed rapid, label-free and specific identification of P. jirovecii in human lung fluids such as bronchoalveolar lavages or nasopharyngeal aspirates. These results offer a door for the future deployment of a sensitive diagnostic tool for fast, direct and selective detection of Pneumocystis pneumonia disease.