Point-of-care CRISPR/Cas nucleic acid detection: Recent advances, challenges and opportunities

• Published in: Biosensors & bioelectronics Vol. 166; p. 112445
• Main Authors: van Dongen, Jeanne E., Berendsen, Johanna T.W., Steenbergen, Renske D.M., Wolthuis, Rob M.F., Eijkel, Jan C.T., Segerink, Loes I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier B.V 15-10-2020
• Subjects: Biosensing Techniques; Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats - genetics; CRISPR sensing; CRISPR-Cas Systems - genetics; CRISPR/Cas; Diagnosis; DNA sensing; Genomic diagnostic tools; Nucleic Acids - genetics; Point-of-care; Point-of-Care Systems; Genomic diagnostic tools; Diagnosis; Point-of-care; CRISPR/Cas; DNA sensing; CRISPR sensing
• ISSN: 0956-5663; 1873-4235
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2020.112445

With the trend of moving molecular tests from clinical laboratories to on-site testing, there is a need for nucleic acid based diagnostic tools combining the sensitivity, specificity and flexibility of established diagnostics with the ease, cost effectiveness and speed of isothermal amplification and detection methods. A promising new nucleic acid detection method is Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-associated nuclease (Cas)-based sensing. In this method Cas effector proteins are used as highly specific sequence recognition elements that can be combined with many different read-out methods for on-site point-of-care testing. This review covers the technical aspects of integrating CRISPR/Cas technology in miniaturized sensors for analysis on-site. We start with a short introduction to CRISPR/Cas systems and the different effector proteins and continue with reviewing the recent developments of integrating CRISPR sensing in miniaturized sensors for point-of-care applications. Finally, we discuss the challenges of point-of-care CRISPR sensing and describe future research perspectives.
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•Rapid and reliable detection of nucleic acid is critical in many different fields.•CRISPR/Cas effector protein complexes could be used for specific DNA detection in so-called point-of-care testing.•A short and comprehensive introduction to CRISPR sensing is given.•We review recent developments of integrating CRISPR sensing in Point-of-care devices.•The challenges of (point-of-care) CRISPR sensing are discussed.