Abstract
A new method has been developed to improve the detection of norovirus
(NoV) in complex fecal samples using nanomaterials-based immunoassays.
The method involves using multifunctional trimetallic nanoparticles,
known as Ag@Fe3O4@Au NPs. These nanoparticles consist of a core of
silver (Ag) and a shell of iron oxide (Fe3O4) decorated with isolated
gold (Au) nanoparticles. The nanoparticles have enhanced catalytic
activity, making them an ideal nanocatalyst for reducing substrate
molecules. The developed Ag@Fe3O4@Au NPs-based immunoassay achieved a
limit of detection (LOD) of 1.9 pg/mL for norovirus-like particles
(NoV-LP) and 6.97 fecal NoV copy number/mL. Achieving a LOD under 10
copy numbers is important for detailed protein analysis. The study also
found that heat treatment of fecal suspension at 65°C was necessary to
prevent the degradation of the target analyte for sensitive NoV
detection. This work successfully combined multifunctional nanocatalysts
for advanced immunoassays, which could contribute to developing
nano-biosensing platforms.