Point-of-Use Nanobiosensor for Detection of Dengue Virus NS1 Antigen in Adult Aedes aegypti: A Potential Tool for Improved Dengue Surveillance

Dengue virus (DENY) and its primary mosquito vectors Aedes spp. have spread to every continent except Antarctica, causing outbreaks and autochthonous transmission in previously disease-free regions. Recently, the spread of other arboviruses carried by invasive Aedes spp., such as Chikungunya and Zika, seem to be following similar trends as DENY and have renewed interest in monitoring and modeling arboviruses within mosquito vectors. Unfortunately, current commercially available detection methods are designed for the diagnosis of DENY in humans or are too expensive and complex for sustainable monitoring. We report a novel electronic nanobiosensor utilizing a single-walled carbon nanotube networks chemiresistor transducer functionalized with antidengue NS1 monoclonal antibodies for rapid detection of the.dengue nonstructural protein 1 (NS1). NS1 is a highly conserved protein secreted at high concentrations during viral replication and is a biomarker for DENY infection. NS1 was successfully detected in spiked adult Aedes aegypti homogenate over a broad dynamic range with high sensitivity and selectivity. The biosensor is compatible with "gold-standard" adult mosquito field-collection protocols and generates electronic data that can be readily stored or wirelessly transmitted. Thus, it has potential for remote and real-time monitoring of wild mosquito populations.