MXene‐Based Aptameric Fluorosensor for Sensitive and Rapid Detection of COVID‐19

Abstract The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2)‐caused COVID‐19 pandemic has rapidly escalated into the largest global health emergency, which pushes to develop detection kits for the detection of COVID‐19 with high sensitivity, specificity, and fast analysis. Here, aptamer‐functionalized MXene nanosheet is demonstrated as a novel bionanosensor that detects COVID‐19. Upon binding to the spike receptor binding domain of SARS‐CoV‐2, the aptamer probe is released from MXene surface restoring the quenched fluorescence. The performances of the fluorosensor are evaluated using antigen protein, cultured virus, and swab specimens from COVID‐19 patients. It is evidenced that this sensor can detect SARS‐CoV‐2 spike protein at final concentration of 38.9 fg mL −1 and SARS‐CoV‐2 pseudovirus (limit of detection: 7.2 copies) within 30 min. Its application for clinical samples analysis is also demonstrated successfully. This work offers an effective sensing platform for sensitive and rapid detection of COVID‐19 with high specificity.