Aptamer-based biosensors for the diagnostics of infectious disease-causing bacteria using spiked and clinical samples: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Bacterial infections that cause acute systemic infection are the leading cause of health issues globally. Current diagnostic assays for bacterial infection include culture and nucleic acid amplification methods. However, the culture method is very time-consuming and expensive, while the nucleic acid amplification method, although it is sensitive, requires trained personnel. Aptamer-based biosensors are promising alternatives to these strategies owing to aptamers' advantages: cost-saving, no batch-to-batch variation, and high specificity and sensitivity.

AIMS: In view of their diagnostic potential, we aim to conduct a systematic review on various biosensors harnessed for the diagnosis of bacteria, which was performed using spiked and clinical samples between 2018 and 2026.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Based on the specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, the studies performed in recent years (2018-26) were filtered from two databases, PubMed and Scopus. The inclusion criteria were aptamer-based biosensors for the detection of bacteria in spiked and clinical samples from patients with human infectious diseases. A total of 42 studies were included in this systematic review that involve aptamer-based detection of Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Acinetobacter baumanii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enterica, Helicobacter pylori, Roseburia intestinalis, Group B Streptococcus, and Haemophilus influenzae.

CONCLUSION: Aptamer-based biosensors show immense prospects for the diagnostics of pathogenic bacteria.