A magnetic resonance light scattering (RLS) sensor based on the molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) technique was developed for specific recognition of trace quantities of hepatitis A virus (HAV). Through a surface imprinting technique, the virus-magnetic-MIPs (virus-MMIPs) were prepared as the specific identification element, which was based on the effective synthesis of biomimetic polydopamine (PDA) inspired by mussels on the surface of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles. The preparation process of the virus-magnetic-MIPs was simple and rapid under an applied magnetic field. The surface of the magnetic-MIP captured viruses through specific recognition in water, which caused changes to the particle size and shape, and subsequently resulted in changes in the intensity of the RLS. The sensor was applied to determine the amount of HAV in the linear concentration range of 0.02–1.40 nmol L−1, with a low detection limit of 6.2 pmol L−1, and it was successfully applied for the immediate detection of added HAV from a 2000-fold dilution of human serum. More importantly, the proposed strategy addressed the difficulty of virus-MIP detection in the elution process and it is rapid, easy, sensitive, and eco-friendly.
