{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T02:37:51Z","timestamp":1774579071694,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,29]],"date-time":"2021-06-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1624924800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004242","name":"Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PNU-DRI-Targeted-20- 002"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PNU-DRI-Targeted-20- 002"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004242","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Coronavirus (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been identified as a deadly pandemic. The genomic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 is performed using a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique for identifying viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) in infected patients. However, the RT-PCR diagnostic technique is manually laborious and expensive; therefore, it is not readily accessible in every laboratory. Methodological simplification is crucial to combat the ongoing pandemic by introducing quick, efficient, and affordable diagnostic methods. Here, we report how microcantilever sensors offer promising opportunities for rapid COVID-19 detection. Our first attempt was to capture the single-stranded complementary DNA of SARS-CoV-2 through DNA hybridization. Therefore, the microcantilever surface was immobilized with an oligonucleotide probe and detected using complementary target DNA hybridization by a shift in microcantilever resonance frequency. Our results show that microcantilever sensors can discriminate between complementary and noncomplementary target DNA on a micro to nanoscale. Additionally, the microcantilever sensors\u2019 aptitude toward partial complementary DNA determines their potential to identify new variants of coronavirus. Therefore, microcantilever sensing could be a vital tool in the effort to extinguish the spreading COVID-19 pandemic.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s21134439","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,29]],"date-time":"2021-06-29T22:39:43Z","timestamp":1625006383000},"page":"4439","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Rapid and Sensitive Detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Label-Free Manner Using Micromechanical Sensors"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Dalal A.","family":"Aloraini","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physics, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aljawhara H.","family":"Almuqrin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physics, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Amal","family":"Alanazi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"King Abdullah Institute for Nanotechnology, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3651-2337","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qura Tul","family":"Ain","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"King Abdullah Institute for Nanotechnology, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0202-8712","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abdullah N.","family":"Alodhayb","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"King Abdullah Institute for Nanotechnology, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"Research Chair for Tribology, Surface, and Interface Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"278","DOI":"10.1111\/tmi.13383","article-title":"The COVID-19 epidemic","volume":"25","author":"Velavan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Trop. 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