Pandemic Influenza Detection by Electrically Active Magnetic Nanoparticles and Surface Plasmon Resonance.

Influenza A virus (FLUAV), the causative agent of influenza infection, has received extensive attention due to the recent swine-origin H1N1 pandemic. FLUAV has long been the cause of annual epidemics as well as less frequent but more severe global pandemics. Here, we describe a biosensor utilizing electrically active magnetic (EAM) polyaniline-coated nanoparticles as the transducer in an electrochemical biosensor for rapidly identifying FLUAV strains based on receptor specificity, which will be useful to monitor animal influenza infections and to characterize pandemic potential of strains that have transmitted from animals to humans.

Nanoparticle-based biosensor for the detection of emerging pandemic influenza strains.

Electrically active magnetic (EAM) nanoparticles, consisting of aniline monomer polymerized around gamma iron(III) oxide (γ-Fe(2)O(3)) cores, serve as the basis of a direct-charge transfer biosensor developed for detection of surface glycoprotein hemagglutinin (HA) from the Influenza A virus (FLUAV) H5N1 (A/Vietnam/1203/04). H5N1 preferentially binds α2,3-linked host glycan receptors. EAM nanoparticles were immunofunctionalized with antibodies against target HA.