Simple and sensitive diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis using triphasic DE−ZnO−APDMS microparticle composite

The increasing mortality and incidence of invasive aspergillosis (IA) pose a serious threat to the health of immunocompromised populations. Herein, we synthesized triphasic microparticles named diatomaceous earth ‒ zinc oxide ‒ 3-aminopropyl(diethoxy)methylsilane (DE ‒ ZnO ‒ APDMS) for spores enrichment and fungal cell wall disintegration without detergents when incubated with Aspergillus fumigatus ( A. fumigatus ). Using the triphasic DE ‒ ZnO ‒ APDMS microparticles and PCR assays, we developed a simple and sensitive A. fumigatus diagnostic assay. In tests with cultured A. fumigatus samples, the diagnosis assay we presented has shown its superiority over commercial kit, including the ease of fungal cell wall disintegration, spores capture, and the isolation of fungal DNA during sample preparation. Furthermore, the clinical utility of the proposed fungal diagnostic assay in 30 clinical samples showed superior sensitivity (100 %) to the conventional kit (50 %). The developed DE ‒ ZnO ‒ APDMS-based fungal diagnostic assay is a potentially valuable tool for diagnosing and monitoring invasive aspergillosis.