Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a major global health concern due to its high transmission rate, including spread via blood, saliva, urine, semen, and vertical transmission. In some cases, ZIKV is associated with microcephaly, neuropathy, and Guillain-Barre syndrome. There is no vaccine and the disease is difficult to control, especially given the co-circulation of dengue viruses. The similarities between the two parvoviruses cause severe cross-reactivity. Considering that it is an established highly sensitive and practical tool for, in this study, we developed a sensor platform with intrinsic redox activity that facilitates the readout of measurements. Prussian blue (PB) has an excellent ability to form an electro catalytic surface and provide a redox probe solution in voltammetric measurements. Here, PB is incorporated into a chitosan-carbon-nanotube hybrid to form a Nano composite that is drop-cast onto a screen-printed electrode (SPE). The immunosensor detected the envelope protein of HeZIKV in a linear range of 0.25–1.75 μg/ml (n = 8, p < 0.01) with a detection limit of 0.20 μg/ml. The developed immunosensor is a novel method of electrochemical measurement without additional redox probe solutions and is suitable for use in point-of-care diagnostics.