DNA Aptamers for Early Detection of Ebolavirus

Nucleic acid aptamers are emerging as the new generation molecular recognition elements for diagnostics based on their synthetic nature, stability under a wide range of temperatures and amenability to different sensing platforms. Aptamers can further be modified in sequence and chemically to increase their specificities and affinities for their target molecule and to enhance their stabilities in the presence of nucleases. Such characteristics are compatible with the small electrochemical aptasensor that we are developing for point of care diagnosis of infectious virus species. Ebola virus, which kills up to 90% of those it infects, is one of the deadliest known viruses. Being highly contagious, the Ebola virus calls for rapid diagnosis for isolation of infected individuals to prevent viral outbreak. For this purpose, we have selected DNA aptamers with high affinities and specificities for Ebola virus (EBOV) soluble glycoprotein (sGP). The presence of sGP in abundance into the blood stream of infected individuals even during the early stages of infection, makes it an excellent biomarker for diagnosis. The selected aptamers functioned well on a portable nanoporous aluminum oxide (NAAO) sensor to detect sGP in Ebola infected macaque serum samples. This NAAO sensor which allows label free detection of ebola infected serum samples, now being tested against many samples for accuracy of reporting, has the potential to greatly accelerate EBOV diagnosis on site and to automatically relay that information to central authorities, thereby preventing the spread of this highly contagious virus and saving thousands of lives.