Advanced Sensor Applications in Viral Diagnosis: Current Situation, Limitations, and Future Perspectives

As human civilization continues to grow, several infectious diseases and viral outbreaks, like the recent pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, have been detrimental to the environment and humanity as a whole (SARS-CoV-2). Researchers wanted new cutting-edge diagnostic techniques besides the conventional ones, which are typically labor-intensive, expensive, and time-consuming, to accommodate patients’ needs, reduce mortalities, assist as many people as possible, minimize expenses, and save time. The necessary efficient and advantageous diagnostic method is now possible thanks to the integration of biotechnology, biochemistry, material science, and biomedical engineering. Such an approach encompasses much potential in various applications, one of which is the diagnosis of infectious diseases. In this chapter of the book, we discuss recent developments in nanosensors as a diagnostic tool for infectious diseases caused by various viruses, including dengue, Ebola, herpes simplex, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human papillomavirus (HPV), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).