Hepatitis C virus RNA assays: current and emerging technologies and their clinical applications

Abstract

Molecular diagnostic assays represent a cornerstone in the management of hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients. Qualitative and quantitative HCV molecular assays are used for the diagnosis of acute and chronic HCV infections, viral genotyping, viral-load determination, treatment monitoring and prognosis. Reverse-transcription PCR, transcription-mediated amplification and branched DNA amplification are commonly employed for detection of HCV RNA. Recently, new HCV molecular assays that employ nanostructures have emerged and have been proposed as suitable for both low- and high-resource settings, without sacrificing sensitivity and specificity. This article will present current and future HCV molecular diagnostic assays with a focus on their clinical applications.

Keywords::

• branched DNA
• genotyping
• gold nanoparticle
• hepatitis C virus
• molecular diagnostics
• nanotechnology
• PCR
• quantum dot
• transcription-mediated amplification

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.