Development of a lateral flow strip biosensor based on copper oxide nanoparticles for rapid and sensitive detection of HPV16 DNA

Human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 is widely distributed in population, which is responsible for more than 50% of cervical cancers. A point-of-care testing for HPV16 is critical for early diagnosis and decisions regarding patient care. In this work, a novel lateral flow strip biosensor (LFSB) has been established by a simple, low-cost and green synthetic procedure for the detection of HPV16 DNA. Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) were used as colored tags in the LFSB for the first time. In a typical experimental procedure, CuO NPs were sequentially functionalized with streptavidin and biotinylated capture DNA to form the CuO Capture probes. In the present of HPV16 DNA, the CuO Capture probes would capture the target, forming a characteristic brown band due to the second base pairing with the test DNA probes on the test zone of LFSB, which enabling the visual detection. A portable strips reader achieved the quantitative detection. The optimized CuO-based LFSB was capable of detecting the target over its concentration ranged from 5 nM to 100 nM with a limit of detection of 1.0 nM, and the whole detection process could be completed within 20 min. The CuO-based LFSB shows a great promise and versatile opportunities in point-of-care diagnosis of genetic diseases with good reproducibility and stability.