Advancements and emerging technologies in biosensors for rapid and accurate virus detection

Infectious diseases originating from viruses are emerging as a major global health concern. The recent epidemic events related to various respiratory viruses, including coronavirus 2, have been reported worldwide and raised much concern. Starting from this point, early detection of infectious diseases plays a crucial role in both preventing their spread and helping the therapeutic treatment of affected patients. Electrochemical and optical biosensors combined with nanomaterials can offer rapid and real-time analysis of viruses in clinical samples; therefore, their application in point-of-care testing for diagnostic purposes has shown considerable progresses in the last few years. Therefore, the proposed review aims to summarize the recent trends in the development of new biosensors, together with their potential applications in detecting the most common viruses. Furthermore, the main challenges and the future perspectives for their use in clinical diagnostics are discussed.