| Abstract: | A biosensor combining the sensitivity of surface acoustic waves (SAW)
generated at a frequency of 325 MHz with the specificity provided by
antibodies and other ligands for the detection of viral agents. In a
preferred embodiment, a lithium tantalate based SAW transducer with
silicon dioxide waveguide sensor platform featuring three test and one
reference delay lines was used to adsorb antibodies directed against
Coxsackie virus B4 or the negative-stranded category A bioagent Sin
Nombre virus (SNV). Rapid detection of increasing concentrations of viral
particles was linear over a range of order of magnitude for both viruses,
and the sensor's selectivity for its target was not compromised by the
presence of confounding Herpes Simplex virus type 1 The biosensor was
able to delect SNV at doses lower than the load of virus typically found
in a human patient suffering from hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome
(HCPS). |