Optical biosensor rapidly detects virus that causes mpox

The technology could allow clinicians to diagnose the disease at the point of care rather than wait for lab results. The study has been published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

In the clinic, mpox symptoms such as fever, pain, rashes and lesions resemble those of many other viral infections, said Partha Ray, an associate project scientist at UC San Diego School of Medicine and co-principal investigator on the study.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is currently the only approved method of diagnosing mpox, which is expensive, requires a laboratory, and can take days or weeks to get results.

“A deadly combination when there is a fast-spreading epidemic or pandemic,” Ray said in a statement.

The search for a better molecular diagnostic for mpox draws on over a decade of research in the lab of Selim Ünlü, a distinguished professor of engineering at Boston University (BU) and co-principal investigator on the study.

The lab has developed optical biosensors for detecting the viruses that cause Ebola haemorrhagic fever and COVID-19, among others. Ray’s team at UC San Diego collaborated with Ünlü’s lab, providing biological expertise and authenticated samples to Ünlü’s engineering team.