Meeting Mpox Where It’s At

Mpox continues to sweep a deadly course through African nations, including the Democratic Republic of Congo. PCR remains the only approved diagnostic test, but faster testing – ideally at the point of care – is urgently required to more effectively manage patients with the fast-spreading disease.

With that need in mind, engineers at Boston University, USA, have developed a new optical biosensor technology – pixel diversity interferometric reflectance imaging sensor (PD-IRIS) – that has demonstrated significant improvements in detecting the mpox virus (MPXV) over existing sensors. The innovation, detailed in Biosensors and Bioelectronics, shows potential as a rapid – and cost-effective – diagnostic platform for point-of-care settings.

The PD-IRIS system can detect intact MPXV particles with a sensitivity nine times greater than a standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), achieving a limit of detection of 200 PFU/mL (~3.3 attomolar). How? PD-IRIS uses monoclonal antibodies targeting the MPXV A29 protein – a highly conserved viral membrane antigen.

Moreover, the system uses multi-spectral illumination to capture the optical signatures of viral particles in a single snapshot, which enables the completion of the entire assay, including sample preparation, within 20 minutes.

Specificity tests confirmed PD-IRIS could differentiate MPXV from closely related cowpox virus and herpes simplex virus. And additional experiments demonstrated the robustness of the technology across a range of viral concentrations and experimental conditions.

In short, the authors believe that PD-IRIS holds promise for widespread application in Mpox diagnostics, particularly in resource-limited environments. The research team suggests future adaptations could extend the platform to additional pathogens, providing a scalable solution for real-time infectious disease monitoring and control.