Published online Nov 14, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i42.15476
Revised: February 19, 2014
Accepted: June 13, 2014
Published online: November 14, 2014
Hepatitis C is a liver disease that is transmitted through contact with the blood of an infected person. An estimated 150 million individuals worldwide have been chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C shows significant genetic variation in the global population, due to the high rate of viral RNA mutation. There are six variants of the virus (HCV genotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6), with 15 recorded subtypes that vary in prevalence across different regions of the world. A variety of devices are used to diagnose hepatitis C, including HCV antibody test, HCV viral load test, HCV genotype test and liver biopsy. Rapid, inexpensive, sensitive, and robust analytical devices are therefore essential for effective diagnosis and monitoring of disease treatment. This review provides an overview of current electrochemical immunosensor and genosensor technologies employed in HCV detection. There are a limited number of publications showing electrochemical biosensors being used for the detection of HCV. Due to their simplicity, specificity, and reliability, electrochemical biosensor devices have potential clinical applications in several viral infections.
Core tip: The global market for hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment will reach $20 billion annually by the end of the decade. Therefore, a considerable interest in developing simple and reliable methods for detecting and quantifying HCV is required. Conventional HCV diagnostic tests include virus isolation, immunofluorescence microscopy, enzyme immunoassays and polymerase chain reaction techniques are becoming obsolete for routine clinical practices. In this issue, the current knowledge on the alternative diagnostic devices for HCV detection is updated, addressing all the topics with a practical point of view to make this “Topic Highlight” interesting and useful to most clinicians.