University of Pittsburgh researchers have developed a novel two-electrode-based correction approach to improve accuracy of biosensors.
Description
Label-free biosensors are devices that detect chemical or biological species based on direct binding between a target biomolecule and an analyte molecule on the sensor. They are widely used in medical settings including real-time monitoring without the need for multistep laboratory analysis (e.g., ELISA). A common problem with label-free biosensors is interference from non-specific or off-target material found in the sample material (e.g., blood) often referred to as biofouling. This novel approach is designed to overcome the challenges of biofouling improving the accuracy of label-free biosensors, potentially increasing their use in clinical settings for better patient diagnosis and management.
Applications
· Improving accuracy and sensitivity of biosensors
· Rapid screening for early detection of cardiovascular (CV) and other diseases
· Real-time patient monitoring of chemical and biological molecules
Advantages
A major challenge with biosensor accuracy is interference in the form of biofouling. A particular challenge is the non-specific adsorption (NSA) of non-target molecules to the biosensor surface. While efforts have been made to prevent biofouling in the form of coatings, these are unstable and can deteriorate with time.
This novel two-electrode approach is designed to overcome the problem through detection of biofouling using a baseline biosensor (BB). An additional electrode, a sensing biosensor (Bs) will detect the target biomolecule with the results of BB used to calculate baseline to account for biofouling. This approach allows for multiple biomolecule detection simultaneously using one BB with multiple Bs and could be applied to any electrochemical technique to detect chemical and biological molecules including drugs, proteins, and RNA.
Invention Readiness
A prototype has been developed whereby BB and BS electrodes were incorporated into the impedimetric biosensor platform, CardioSense. Electrodes consisted of platinum wires functionalized with NeutraVidin™ and either biotin (BB) or biotinylated aptamers to detect key biomarkers (BS). Testing using animal blood samples, a key biomarker of CV disease, namely brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), was detected by modifying the functionalized layer combinations for optimized detection. Validation using human whole blood and serum samples determined BNP results comparable to ELISA assays. Detection of the drug, tacrolimus, has also shown favorable results. Further validation and performance optimization is required but the inclusion of BB has shown detection accuracy of biosensors can be improved with a wide variety of potential clinical applications.
IP Status
https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2023064235A1
