1
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Mack J, Murray R, Lynch K, Arroyo-Currás N. 3D-printed electrochemical cells for multi-point aptamer-based drug measurements. SENSORS & DIAGNOSTICS 2024:d4sd00192c. [PMID: 39157417 PMCID: PMC11325214 DOI: 10.1039/d4sd00192c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2024] [Accepted: 08/03/2024] [Indexed: 08/20/2024]
Abstract
Electrochemical aptamer-based (E-AB) sensors achieve detection and quantitation of biomedically relevant targets such as small molecule drugs and protein biomarkers in biological samples. E-ABs are usually fabricated on commercially available macroelectrodes which, although functional for rapid sensor prototyping, can be costly and are not compatible with the microliter sample volumes typically available in biorepositories for clinical validation studies. Seeking to develop a multi-point sensing platform for sensor validation in sample volumes characteristic of clinical studies, we report a protocol for in-house assembly of 3D-printed E-ABs. We employed a commercially available 3D stereolithographic printer (FormLabs, $5k USD) for electrochemical cell fabrication and directly embedded electrodes within the 3D-printed cell structure. This approach offers a reproducible and reusable electrode fabrication process resulting in four independent and simultaneous measurements for statistically weighted results. We demonstrate compatibility with aptamer sequences binding antibiotics and antineoplastic agents. We also demonstrate a proof-of-concept validation of serum vancomycin measurements using clinical samples. Our results demonstrate that 3D-printing can be used in conjunction with E-ABs for accessible, rapid, and statistically meaningful validation of E-AB sensors in biological matrices.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Mack
- Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 316 Hunterian Building, 725 North Wolfe Street Baltimore MD 21205 USA +1 443 287 4798
| | - Raygan Murray
- Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 316 Hunterian Building, 725 North Wolfe Street Baltimore MD 21205 USA +1 443 287 4798
| | - Kenedi Lynch
- Amgen Scholars Program, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University Baltimore MD 21218 USA
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 316 Hunterian Building, 725 North Wolfe Street Baltimore MD 21205 USA +1 443 287 4798
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore MD 21205 USA
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2
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Pei S, Babity S, Sara Cordeiro A, Brambilla D. Integrating microneedles and sensing strategies for diagnostic and monitoring applications: The state of the art. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2024; 210:115341. [PMID: 38797317 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2024.115341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2024] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Microneedles (MNs) offer minimally-invasive access to interstitial fluid (ISF) - a potent alternative to blood in terms of monitoring physiological analytes. This property is particularly advantageous for the painless detection and monitoring of drugs and biomolecules. However, the complexity of the skin environment, coupled with the inherent nature of the analytes being detected and the inherent physical properties of MNs, pose challenges when conducting physiological monitoring using this fluid. In this review, we discuss different sensing mechanisms and highlight advancements in monitoring different targets, with a particular focus on drug monitoring. We further list the current challenges facing the field and conclude by discussing aspects of MN design which serve to enhance their performance when monitoring different classes of analytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shihao Pei
- Faculté de pharmacie, Université de Montréal, 2940 Chemin de Polytechnique, Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Samuel Babity
- Faculté de pharmacie, Université de Montréal, 2940 Chemin de Polytechnique, Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Ana Sara Cordeiro
- Leicester Institute for Pharmaceutical Innovation, Leicester School of Pharmacy, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, United Kingdom.
| | - Davide Brambilla
- Faculté de pharmacie, Université de Montréal, 2940 Chemin de Polytechnique, Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada.
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3
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Gerson J, Erdal MK, Dauphin-Ducharme P, Idili A, Hespanha JP, Plaxco KW, Kippin TE. A high-precision view of intercompartmental drug transport via simultaneous, seconds-resolved, in situ measurements in the vein and brain. Br J Pharmacol 2024. [PMID: 38877797 DOI: 10.1111/bph.16471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 04/06/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The ability to measure specific molecules at multiple sites within the body simultaneously, and with a time resolution of seconds, could greatly advance our understanding of drug transport and elimination. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH As a proof-of-principle demonstration, here we describe the use of electrochemical aptamer-based (EAB) sensors to measure transport of the antibiotic vancomycin from the plasma (measured in the jugular vein) to the cerebrospinal fluid (measured in the lateral ventricle) of live rats with temporal resolution of a few seconds. KEY RESULTS In our first efforts, we made measurements solely in the ventricle. Doing so we find that, although the collection of hundreds of concentration values over a single drug lifetime enables high-precision estimates of the parameters describing intracranial transport, due to a mathematical equivalence, the data produce two divergent descriptions of the drug's plasma pharmacokinetics that fit the in-brain observations equally well. The simultaneous collection of intravenous measurements, however, resolves this ambiguity, enabling high-precision (typically of ±5 to ±20% at 95% confidence levels) estimates of the key pharmacokinetic parameters describing transport from the blood to the cerebrospinal fluid in individual animals. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The availability of simultaneous, high-density 'in-vein' (plasma) and 'in-brain' (cerebrospinal fluid) measurements provides unique opportunities to explore the assumptions almost universally employed in earlier compartmental models of drug transport, allowing the quantitative assessment of, for example, the pharmacokinetic effects of physiological processes such as the bulk transport of the drug out of the CNS via the dural venous sinuses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Gerson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Murat Kaan Erdal
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Philippe Dauphin-Ducharme
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Andrea Idili
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Department of Chemical Science and Technologies, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Joao P Hespanha
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Kevin W Plaxco
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Interdepartmental Program in Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Tod E Kippin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Interdepartmental Program in Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
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4
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Abeykoon SW, White RJ. Single Voltammetric Sweep Calibration-Free Interrogation of Electrochemical Aptamer-Based Sensors Employing Continuous Square Wave Voltammetry. Anal Chem 2024; 96:6958-6967. [PMID: 38662230 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c05920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Continuous square wave voltammetry (cSWV) is a technique that enables the continuous collection of current data (at 100 kHz) to maximize the information content obtainable from a single voltammetric sweep. This data collection procedure results in the generation of multiple voltammograms corresponding to different effective square wave frequencies. The application of cSWV brings significant benefits to electrochemical aptamer-based (E-AB) sensors. The E-AB sensor platform permits continuous real-time monitoring of small biological molecules. Traditionally, E-AB sensors report only on changes in analyte concentration rather than absolute quantification in matrices when basal concentrations are not known a priori. This is because they exhibit a voltammetric peak current even in the absence of a target. However, using a dual-frequency approach, calibration-free sensing can be performed effectively, eliminating the sensor-to-sensor variation by taking ratiometric current responses obtained at two different frequencies from two different voltammetric sweeps. In employing our approach, cSWV provides a great advantage over the conventionally used square wave voltammetry since the required voltammograms are collected with a single sweep, which improves the temporal resolution of the measurement when considering the current at multiple frequencies for improved accuracy and reduced surface interrogation. Moreover, we show here that using cSWV provides significantly improved concentration predictions. E-AB sensors sensitive to ATP and tobramycin were interrogated across a wide range of concentrations. With this approach, cSWV allowed us to estimate the target concentration, retaining up to an ±5% error of the expected concentration when tested in buffer and complex media.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanduni W Abeykoon
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0172, United States
| | - Ryan J White
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0172, United States
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5
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Reynoso M, Chang AY, Wu Y, Murray R, Suresh S, Dugas Y, Wang J, Arroyo-Currás N. 3D-printed, aptamer-based microneedle sensor arrays using magnetic placement on live rats for pharmacokinetic measurements in interstitial fluid. Biosens Bioelectron 2024; 244:115802. [PMID: 37939414 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
Molecular monitoring in the dermal interstitial fluid (ISF) is an attractive approach to painlessly screen markers of health and disease status on the go. One promising strategy for accessing ISF involves the use of wearable patches containing microneedle sensor arrays. To date, such microneedle sensors have been fabricated via various manufacturing strategies based on injection molding, machining, and advanced lithography to name a few. Our groups previously reported 3D-printed microneedles as a convenient and scalable approach to sensor fabrication that, when combined with aptamer-based molecular measurements, can support continuous molecular monitoring in ISF. However, the original platform suffered from poor patch stability when deployed on the skin of rodents in vivo. We identified that this problem was due to the rheological properties of the rodent skin, which can contract post microneedle placement, physically pushing the microneedles out of the skin. This sensor retraction caused a loss of electrical contact between working and reference needles, irreversibly damaging the sensors. To address this problem, we report here an innovative approach that allows magnetic placement of microneedle sensor arrays on the skin of live rodents, affixing the patches under light pressure that prevents needle retraction. Using this strategy, we achieved sensor signaling baselines that drift at rates comparable to those seen with other in vivo deployments of electrochemical, aptamer-based sensors. We illustrate real-time pharmacokinetic measurements in live Sprague-Dawley rats using SLA-printed, aptamer-functionalized microneedles and demonstrate their ability to support drift correction via kinetic differential measurements. We also discuss future prospects and challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Reynoso
- Department of Nanoengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, United States
| | - An-Yi Chang
- Department of Nanoengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, United States
| | - Yao Wu
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, United States
| | - Raygan Murray
- Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, United States
| | - Smrithi Suresh
- Department of Nanoengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, United States
| | - Yuma Dugas
- Department of Nanoengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, United States
| | - Joseph Wang
- Department of Nanoengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, United States.
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, United States; Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, United States.
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6
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Nguyen MD, Nguyen KN, Malo S, Banerjee I, Wu D, Du-Thumm L, Dauphin-Ducharme P. Electrochemical Aptamer-Based Biosensors for Measurements in Undiluted Human Saliva. ACS Sens 2023; 8:4625-4635. [PMID: 37992319 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.3c01624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
Although blood remains a gold standard diagnostic fluid for most health exams, it involves an unpleasant and relatively invasive sampling procedure (finger pricking or venous draw). Saliva contains many relevant and useful biomarkers for diagnostic purposes, and its collection, in contrast, is noninvasive and can be obtained with minimal effort. Current saliva analyses are, however, achieved using chromatography or lateral flow assays, which, despite their high accuracy and sensitivity, can demand expensive laboratory-based instruments operated by trained personnel or offer only semiquantitative results. In response, we investigated electrochemical aptamer-based (E-AB) biosensors, a reagentless sensing platform, to allow for continuous and real-time measurements directly in undiluted, unstimulated human whole saliva. As a proof-of-concept study, we developed E-AB biosensors capable of detecting low-molecular-weight analytes (glucose and adenosine monophosphate (AMP)). To our knowledge, we report the first E-AB sensor for glucose, an approach that is inherently independent of its chemical reactivity in contrast to home glucometers. For these three sensors, we evaluated their figures of merits, stability, and reusability over short- and long-term exposure directly in saliva. In doing so, we found that E-AB sensors allow rapid and convenient molecular measurements in whole saliva with unprecedented sensitivities in the pico- to nanomolar regime and could be regenerated and reused up to 7 days when washed and stored in phosphate-buffered saline at room temperature. We envision that salivary molecular measurements using E-AB sensors are a promising alternative to invasive techniques and can be used for improved point-of-care clinical diagnosis and at-home measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minh-Dat Nguyen
- Département de chimie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Khoa-Nam Nguyen
- Département de chimie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Samuel Malo
- Département de chimie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Indrani Banerjee
- Colgate, Research and Development Center, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Donghui Wu
- Colgate, Research and Development Center, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Laurence Du-Thumm
- Colgate, Research and Development Center, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
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7
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Pellitero M, Jensen IM, Dominique NL, Ekowo LC, Camden JP, Jenkins DM, Arroyo-Currás N. Stability of N-Heterocyclic Carbene Monolayers under Continuous Voltammetric Interrogation. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:35701-35709. [PMID: 37449918 PMCID: PMC10377464 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c06148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are promising monolayer-forming ligands that can overcome limitations of thiol-based monolayers in terms of stability, surface functionality, and reactivity across a variety of transition-metal surfaces. Recent publications have reported the ability of NHCs to support biomolecular receptors on gold substrates for sensing applications and improved tolerance to prolonged biofluid exposure relative to thiols. However, important questions remain regarding the stability of these monolayers when subjected to voltage perturbations, which is needed for applications with electrochemical platforms. Here, we investigate the ability of two NHCs, 1,3-diisopropylbenzimidazole and 5-(ethoxycarbonyl)-1,3-diisopropylbenzimidazole, to form monolayers via self-assembly from methanolic solutions of their trifluoromethanesulfonate salts. We compare the electrochemical behavior of the resulting monolayers relative to that of benchmark mercaptohexanol monolayers in phosphate-buffered saline. Within the -0.15 to 0.25 V vs Ag|AgCl voltage window, NHC monolayers are stable on gold surfaces, wherein they electrochemically perform like thiol-based monolayers and undergo similar reorganization kinetics, displaying long-term stability under incubation in buffered media and under continuous voltammetric interrogation. At negative voltages, NHC monolayers cathodically desorb from the electrode surface at lower bias (-0.1 V) than thiol-based monolayers (-0.5 V). At voltages more positive than 0.25 V, NHC monolayers anodically desorb from electrode surfaces at similar voltages to thiol-based monolayers. These results highlight new limitations to NHC monolayer stability imposed by electrochemical interrogation of the underlying gold electrodes. Our results serve as a framework for future optimization of NHC monolayers on gold for electrochemical applications, as well as structure-functionality studies of NHCs on gold.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel
Aller Pellitero
- Department
of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Isabel M. Jensen
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Nathaniel L. Dominique
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of Notre Dame, Notre
Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
| | - Lilian Chinenye Ekowo
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of Notre Dame, Notre
Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
| | - Jon P. Camden
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of Notre Dame, Notre
Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
| | - David M. Jenkins
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Department
of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
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8
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Gerson J, Erdal MK, McDonough MH, Ploense KL, Dauphin-Ducharme P, Honeywell KM, Leung KK, Arroyo-Curras N, Gibson JM, Emmons NA, Meiring W, Hespanha JP, Plaxco KW, Kippin TE. High-precision monitoring of and feedback control over drug concentrations in the brains of freely moving rats. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadg3254. [PMID: 37196087 PMCID: PMC10191434 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg3254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Knowledge of drug concentrations in the brains of behaving subjects remains constrained on a number of dimensions, including poor temporal resolution and lack of real-time data. Here, however, we demonstrate the ability of electrochemical aptamer-based sensors to support seconds-resolved, real-time measurements of drug concentrations in the brains of freely moving rats. Specifically, using such sensors, we achieve <4 μM limits of detection and 10-s resolution in the measurement of procaine in the brains of freely moving rats, permitting the determination of the pharmacokinetics and concentration-behavior relations of the drug with high precision for individual subjects. In parallel, we have used closed-loop feedback-controlled drug delivery to hold intracranial procaine levels constant (±10%) for >1.5 hours. These results demonstrate the utility of such sensors in (i) the determination of the site-specific, seconds-resolved neuropharmacokinetics, (ii) enabling the study of individual subject neuropharmacokinetics and concentration-response relations, and (iii) performing high-precision control over intracranial drug levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Gerson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Murat Kaan Erdal
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Matthew H. McDonough
- Department of Statistics and Applied Probability, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Kyle L. Ploense
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | | | - Kevin M. Honeywell
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Kaylyn K. Leung
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Netzahualcoyotl Arroyo-Curras
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Jenny M. Gibson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Nicole A. Emmons
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Wendy Meiring
- Department of Statistics and Applied Probability, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Joao P. Hespanha
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Kevin W. Plaxco
- Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Tod E. Kippin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
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9
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Downs AM, Bolotsky A, Weaver BM, Bennett H, Wolff N, Polsky R, Miller PR. Microneedle electrochemical aptamer-based sensing: Real-time small molecule measurements using sensor-embedded, commercially-available stainless steel microneedles. Biosens Bioelectron 2023; 236:115408. [PMID: 37267688 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Microneedle sensors could enable minimally-invasive, continuous molecular monitoring - informing on disease status and treatment in real-time. Wearable sensors for pharmaceuticals, for example, would create opportunities for treatments personalized to individual pharmacokinetics. Here, we demonstrate a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) approach for microneedle sensing using an electrochemical aptamer-based sensor that detects the high-toxicity antibiotic, vancomycin. Wearable monitoring of vancomycin could improve patient care by allowing targeted drug dosing within its narrow clinical window of safety and efficacy. To produce sensors, we miniaturize the electrochemical aptamer-based sensors to a microelectrode format, and embed them within stainless steel microneedles (sourced from commercial insulin pen needles). The microneedle sensors achieve quantitative measurements in body-temperature undiluted blood. Further, the sensors effectively maintain electrochemical signal within porcine skin. This COTS approach requires no cleanroom fabrication or specialized equipment, and produces individually-addressable, sterilizable microneedle sensors capable of easily penetrating the skin. In the future, this approach could be adapted for multiplexed detection, enabling real-time monitoring of a range of biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex M Downs
- Biological & Chemical Sensors Department, Sandia National Laboratories, 1515 Eubank Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123, USA.
| | - Adam Bolotsky
- Biological & Chemical Sensors Department, Sandia National Laboratories, 1515 Eubank Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123, USA
| | - Bryan M Weaver
- Biological & Chemical Sensors Department, Sandia National Laboratories, 1515 Eubank Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123, USA
| | - Haley Bennett
- Biological & Chemical Sensors Department, Sandia National Laboratories, 1515 Eubank Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123, USA
| | - Nathan Wolff
- Biological & Chemical Sensors Department, Sandia National Laboratories, 1515 Eubank Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123, USA
| | - Ronen Polsky
- Biological & Chemical Sensors Department, Sandia National Laboratories, 1515 Eubank Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123, USA
| | - Philip R Miller
- Biological & Chemical Sensors Department, Sandia National Laboratories, 1515 Eubank Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123, USA
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10
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Clark V, Pellitero MA, Arroyo-Currás N. Explaining the Decay of Nucleic Acid-Based Sensors under Continuous Voltammetric Interrogation. Anal Chem 2023; 95:4974-4983. [PMID: 36881708 PMCID: PMC10035425 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c05158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
Nucleic acid-based electrochemical sensors (NBEs) can support continuous and highly selective molecular monitoring in biological fluids, both in vitro and in vivo, via affinity-based interactions. Such interactions afford a sensing versatility that is not supported by strategies that depend on target-specific reactivity. Thus, NBEs have significantly expanded the scope of molecules that can be monitored continuously in biological systems. However, the technology is limited by the lability of the thiol-based monolayers employed for sensor fabrication. Seeking to understand the main drivers of monolayer degradation, we studied four possible mechanisms of NBE decay: (i) passive desorption of monolayer elements in undisturbed sensors, (ii) voltage-induced desorption under continuous voltammetric interrogation, (iii) competitive displacement by thiolated molecules naturally present in biofluids like serum, and (iv) protein binding. Our results indicate that voltage-induced desorption of monolayer elements is the main mechanism by which NBEs decay in phosphate-buffered saline. This degradation can be overcome by using a voltage window contained between -0.2 and 0.2 V vs Ag|AgCl, reported for the first time in this work, where electrochemical oxygen reduction and surface gold oxidation cannot occur. This result underscores the need for chemically stable redox reporters with more positive reduction potentials than the benchmark methylene blue and the ability to cycle thousands of times between redox states to support continuous sensing for long periods. Additionally, in biofluids, the rate of sensor decay is further accelerated by the presence of thiolated small molecules like cysteine and glutathione, which can competitively displace monolayer elements even in the absence of voltage-induced damage. We hope that this work will serve as a framework to inspire future development of novel sensor interfaces aiming to eliminate the mechanisms of signal decay in NBEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Clark
- Chemistry-Biology
Interface Program, Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Miguel Aller Pellitero
- Departamento
de Química Física y Analítica, Universidad de Oviedo, Av. Julián Clavería 8, Oviedo 33006, Spain
- Instituto
de Investigación Sanitaria Del Principado de Asturias, Avenida de Roma, Oviedo 33011, Spain
- Department
of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Chemistry-Biology
Interface Program, Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
- Department
of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
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11
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Shaver A, Arroyo-Currás N. Expanding the Monolayer Scope for Nucleic Acid-Based Electrochemical Sensors Beyond Thiols on Gold: Alkylphosphonic Acids on ITO. ECS SENSORS PLUS 2023; 2:010601. [PMID: 37006966 PMCID: PMC10053865 DOI: 10.1149/2754-2726/acc4d9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
Electrochemical biosensors are a powerful and rapidly evolving molecular monitoring technology. Evidenced by the success of the continuous glucose monitor in managing Type 1 Diabetes, these sensors are capable of precise, accurate measurements in unprocessed biological environments. Nucleic acid-based electrochemical sensors (NBEs) are a specific type of biosensor that employs the target binding and conformational dynamics of nucleic acids for signal transduction. Currently, the vast majority of NBEs are fabricated via self-assembly of alkylthiols on Au electrodes. However, this architecture is limited in scope, as Au electrodes are not universally deployable for all potential NBE applications. Here, to expand the repertoire of materials on which NBEs can be made, we describe the multistep procedure for creating sensing monolayers of alkylphosphonic acids on a conductive oxide surface. Using such monolayers on indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass slides, we couple redox reporter-modified nucleic acids and demonstrate signaling of procaine-binding NBE sensors in buffer and human serum. We investigate the operational stability of these NBE sensors to reveal faster signal loss relative to benchmark thiol-on-gold sensing layers, a result that arises due to poor stability of the underlying ITO. Finally, we discuss future directions to continue expansion of NBE sensor materials and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Shaver
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States of America
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States of America
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Institute for NanoBioTechnology, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States of America
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12
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Parolo C, Idili A, Heikenfeld J, Plaxco KW. Conformational-switch biosensors as novel tools to support continuous, real-time molecular monitoring in lab-on-a-chip devices. LAB ON A CHIP 2023; 23:1339-1348. [PMID: 36655710 PMCID: PMC10799767 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00716a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Recent years have seen continued expansion of the functionality of lab on a chip (LOC) devices. Indeed LOCs now provide scientists and developers with useful and versatile platforms across a myriad of chemical and biological applications. The field still fails, however, to integrate an often important element of bench-top analytics: real-time molecular measurements that can be used to "guide" a chemical response. Here we describe the analytical techniques that could provide LOCs with such real-time molecular monitoring capabilities. It appears to us that, among the approaches that are general (i.e., that are independent of the reactive or optical properties of their targets), sensing strategies relying on binding-induced conformational change of bioreceptors are most likely to succeed in such applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Parolo
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Hospital Clínic Universitat de Barcelona, 08036, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Andrea Idili
- Department of Chemical Science and Technologies, University of Rome, Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Jason Heikenfeld
- Novel Devices Laboratory, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Kevin W Plaxco
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
- Interdepartmental Program in Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
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13
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Rahbarimehr E, Chao HP, Churcher ZR, Slavkovic S, Kaiyum YA, Johnson PE, Dauphin-Ducharme P. Finding the Lost Dissociation Constant of Electrochemical Aptamer-Based Biosensors. Anal Chem 2023; 95:2229-2237. [PMID: 36638814 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c03566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Electrochemical aptamer-based (E-AB) biosensors afford real-time measurements of the concentrations of molecules directly in complex matrices and in the body, offering alternative strategies to develop innovative personalized medicine tools. While different electroanalytical techniques have been used to interrogate E-AB sensors (i.e., cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and chronoamperometry) to resolve the change in electron transfer of the aptamer's covalently attached redox reporter, square-wave voltammetry remains a widely used technique due to its ability to maximize the redox reporter's faradic contribution to the measured current. Several E-AB sensors interrogated with this technique, however, show lower aptamer affinity (i.e., μM-mM) even in the face of employing aptamers that have high affinities (i.e., nM-μM) when characterized using solution techniques such as isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) or fluorescence spectroscopy. Given past reports showing that E-AB sensor's response is dependent on square-wave interrogation parameters (i.e., frequency and amplitude), we hypothesized that the difference in dissociation constants measured with solution techniques stemmed from the electrochemical interrogation technique itself. In response, we decided to compare six dissociation constants of aptamers when characterized in solution with ITC and when interrogated on electrodes with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, a technique able to, in contrast to square-wave voltammetry, deconvolute and quantify E-AB sensors' contributions to the measured current. In doing so, we found that we were able to measure dissociation constants that were either separated by 2-3-fold or within experimental errors. These results are in contrast with square-wave voltammetry-measured dissociation constants that are at the most separated by 2-3 orders of magnitude from ones measured by ITC. We thus envision that the versatility and time scales covered by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy offer the highest sensitivity to measure target binding in electrochemical biosensors relying on changes in electron-transfer rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erfan Rahbarimehr
- Département de chimie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QuébecJ1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Hoi Pui Chao
- Department of Chemistry, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, OntarioM3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Zachary R Churcher
- Department of Chemistry, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, OntarioM3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Sladjana Slavkovic
- Department of Chemistry, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, OntarioM3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Yunus A Kaiyum
- Department of Chemistry, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, OntarioM3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Philip E Johnson
- Department of Chemistry, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, OntarioM3J 1P3, Canada
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14
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Shaver A, Mahlum J, Scida K, Johnston ML, Aller Pellitero M, Wu Y, Carr GV, Arroyo-Currás N. Optimization of Vancomycin Aptamer Sequence Length Increases the Sensitivity of Electrochemical, Aptamer-Based Sensors In Vivo. ACS Sens 2022; 7:3895-3905. [PMID: 36417705 PMCID: PMC9791989 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.2c01910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The measurement of serum vancomycin levels at the clinic is critical to optimizing dosing given the narrow therapeutic window of this antibiotic. Current approaches to quantitate serum vancomycin levels are based on immunoassays, which are multistep methods requiring extensive processing of patient samples. As an alternative, vancomycin-binding electrochemical, aptamer-based sensors (E-ABs) were developed to simplify the workflow of vancomycin monitoring. E-ABs enable the instantaneous measurement of serum vancomycin concentrations without the need for sample dilution or other processing steps. However, the originally reported vancomycin-binding E-ABs had a dissociation constant of 45 μM, which is approximately 1 order of magnitude higher than the recommended trough concentrations of vancomycin measured in patients. This limited sensitivity hinders the ability of E-ABs to accurately support vancomycin monitoring. To overcome this problem, here we sought to optimize the length of the vancomycin-binding aptamer sequence to enable a broader dynamic range in the E-AB platform. Our results demonstrate, via isothermal calorimetry and E-AB calibrations in undiluted serum, that superior affinity and near-equal sensor gain in vitro can be achieved using a one-base-pair-longer aptamer than the truncated sequence originally reported. We validate the impact of the improved binding affinity in vivo by monitoring vancomycin levels in the brain cortex of live mice following intravenous administration. While the original sequence fails to resolve vancomycin concentrations from baseline noise (SNR = 1.03), our newly reported sequence provides an SNR of 1.62 at the same dose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Shaver
- Department
of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - J.D. Mahlum
- Chemistry-Biology
Interface Program, Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Karen Scida
- Lieber
Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Melanie L. Johnston
- Department
of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
- Biochemistry,
Cellular and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, United States
| | - Miguel Aller Pellitero
- Department
of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Yao Wu
- Department
of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Gregory V. Carr
- Department
of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
- Lieber
Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Department
of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
- Chemistry-Biology
Interface Program, Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
- Biochemistry,
Cellular and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, United States
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15
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Pellitero MA, Arroyo-Currás N. Study of surface modification strategies to create glassy carbon-supported, aptamer-based sensors for continuous molecular monitoring. Anal Bioanal Chem 2022; 414:5627-5641. [PMID: 35352164 PMCID: PMC9242903 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-022-04015-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Electrochemical, aptamer-based (E-AB) sensors uniquely enable reagentless, reversible, and continuous molecular monitoring in biological fluids. Because of this ability, E-AB sensors have been proposed for therapeutic drug monitoring. However, to achieve translation from the bench to the clinic, E-AB sensors should ideally operate reliably and continuously for periods of days. Instead, because these sensors are typically fabricated on gold surfaces via self-assembly of alkanethiols that are prone to desorption from electrode surfaces, they undergo significant signal losses in just hours. To overcome this problem, our group is attempting to migrate E-AB sensor interfaces away from thiol-on-gold assembly towards stronger covalent bonds. Here, we explore the modification of carbon electrodes as an alternative substrate for E-AB sensors. We investigated three strategies to functionalize carbon surfaces: (I) anodization to generate surface carboxylic groups, (II) electrografting of arenediazonium ions, and (III) electrografting of primary aliphatic amines. Our results indicate that electrografting of primary aliphatic amines is the only strategy achieving monolayer organization and packing densities closely comparable to those obtained by alkanethiols on gold. In addition, the resulting monolayers enable covalent tethering of DNA aptamers and support electrochemical sensing of small molecule targets or complimentary DNA strands. These monolayers also achieve superior stability under continuous voltammetric interrogation in biological fluids relative to benchmark thiol-on-gold monolayers when a positive voltage scan window is used. Based on these results, we postulate the electrografting of primary aliphatic amines as a path forward to develop carbon-supported E-AB sensors with increased operational stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Aller Pellitero
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Hunterian Building, Room 314, 725 North Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Hunterian Building, Room 314, 725 North Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.
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16
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Wu Y, Tehrani F, Teymourian H, Mack J, Shaver A, Reynoso M, Kavner J, Huang N, Furmidge A, Duvvuri A, Nie Y, Laffel L, Doyle FJ, Patti ME, Dassau E, Wang J, Arroyo-Currás N. Microneedle Aptamer-Based Sensors for Continuous, Real-Time Therapeutic Drug Monitoring. Anal Chem 2022; 94:8335-8345. [PMID: 35653647 PMCID: PMC9202557 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c00829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The ability to continuously monitor the concentration of specific molecules in the body is a long-sought goal of biomedical research. For this purpose, interstitial fluid (ISF) was proposed as the ideal target biofluid because its composition can rapidly equilibrate with that of systemic blood, allowing the assessment of molecular concentrations that reflect full-body physiology. In the past, continuous monitoring in ISF was enabled by microneedle sensor arrays. Yet, benchmark microneedle sensors can only detect molecules that undergo redox reactions, which limits the ability to sense metabolites, biomarkers, and therapeutics that are not redox-active. To overcome this barrier, here, we expand the scope of these devices by demonstrating the first use of microneedle-supported electrochemical, aptamer-based (E-AB) sensors. This platform achieves molecular recognition based on affinity interactions, vastly expanding the scope of molecules that can be sensed. We report the fabrication of microneedle E-AB sensor arrays and a method to regenerate them for multiple uses. In addition, we demonstrate continuous molecular measurements using these sensors in flow systems in vitro using single and multiplexed microneedle array configurations. Translation of the platform to in vivo measurements is possible as we demonstrate with a first E-AB measurement in the ISF of a rodent. The encouraging results reported in this work should serve as the basis for future translation of microneedle E-AB sensor arrays to biomedical research in preclinical animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Wu
- Department
of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States
| | - Farshad Tehrani
- Department
of Nanoengineering, University of California
San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Hazhir Teymourian
- Department
of Nanoengineering, University of California
San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - John Mack
- Biochemistry,
Cellular and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States
| | - Alexander Shaver
- Department
of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States
| | - Maria Reynoso
- Department
of Nanoengineering, University of California
San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Jonathan Kavner
- Department
of Nanoengineering, University of California
San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Nickey Huang
- Department
of Nanoengineering, University of California
San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Allison Furmidge
- Department
of Nanoengineering, University of California
San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Andrés Duvvuri
- Department
of Nanoengineering, University of California
San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Yuhang Nie
- Department
of Nanoengineering, University of California
San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Lori
M. Laffel
- Joslin
Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Francis J. Doyle
- Harvard
John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Allston, Massachusetts 02134, United States
| | - Mary-Elizabeth Patti
- Joslin
Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Eyal Dassau
- Harvard
John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Allston, Massachusetts 02134, United States
| | - Joseph Wang
- Department
of Nanoengineering, University of California
San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Department
of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States
- Biochemistry,
Cellular and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States
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17
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Downs AM, Gerson J, Leung KK, Honeywell KM, Kippin T, Plaxco KW. Improved calibration of electrochemical aptamer-based sensors. Sci Rep 2022; 12:5535. [PMID: 35365672 PMCID: PMC8976050 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-09070-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Electrochemical aptamer-based (EAB) sensors support the real-time, high frequency measurement of pharmaceuticals and metabolites in-situ in the living body, rendering them a potentially powerful technology for both research and clinical applications. Here we explore quantification using EAB sensors, examining the impact of media selection and temperature on measurement performance. Using freshly-collected, undiluted whole blood at body temperature as both our calibration and measurement conditions, we demonstrate accuracy of better than ± 10% for the measurement of our test bed drug, vancomycin. Comparing titrations collected at room and body temperature, we find that matching the temperature of calibration curve collection to the temperature used during measurements improves quantification by reducing differences in sensor gain and binding curve midpoint. We likewise find that, because blood age impacts the sensor response, calibrating in freshly collected blood can improve quantification. Finally, we demonstrate the use of non-blood proxy media to achieve calibration without the need to collect fresh whole blood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex M Downs
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Julian Gerson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Kaylyn K Leung
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Kevin M Honeywell
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Tod Kippin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,The Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Kevin W Plaxco
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA. .,Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA. .,Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
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18
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Dauphin-Ducharme P, Ploense KL, Arroyo-Currás N, Kippin TE, Plaxco KW. Electrochemical Aptamer-Based Sensors: A Platform Approach to High-Frequency Molecular Monitoring In Situ in the Living Body. METHODS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (CLIFTON, N.J.) 2022; 2393:479-492. [PMID: 34837195 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1803-5_25] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
The monitoring of specific molecules in the living body has historically required sample removal (e.g., blood draws, microdialysis) followed by analysis via cumbersome, laboratory-bound processes. Those few exceptions to this rule (e.g., glucose, pyruvate, the monoamines) are monitored using "one-off" technologies reliant on the specific enzymatic or redox reactivity of their targets, and thus not generalizable to the measurement of other targets. In response we have developed in vivo electrochemical aptamer-based (E-AB) sensors, a modular, receptor-based measurement technology that is independent of the chemical reactivity of its targets, and thus has the potential to be generalizable to a wide range of analytes. To further the adoption of this in vivo molecular measurement approach by other researchers and to accelerate its ultimate translation to the clinic, we present here our standard protocols for the fabrication and use of intravenous E-AB sensors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kyle L Ploense
- Center for Bioengineering, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | | | - Tod E Kippin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.,Department of Molecular Developmental and Cellular Biology, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.,Neuroscience Research Institute, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Kevin W Plaxco
- Center for Bioengineering, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA. .,Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
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19
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A plug, print & play inkjet printing and impedance-based biosensing technology operating through a smartphone for clinical diagnostics. Biosens Bioelectron 2021; 196:113737. [PMID: 34740116 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2021.113737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Simplicity is one of the key feature for the spread of any successful technological product. Here, a method for rapid and low-cost fabrication of electrochemical biosensors is presented. This "plug, print & play" method involves inkjet-printing even in an office-like environment, without the need of highly specialized expertise or equipment, guaranteeing an ultra-fast idea to (scaled) prototype production time. The printed biosensors can be connected to a smartphone through its audio input for their impedance readout, demonstrating the validity of the system for point-of-care biosensing. Proper electrodes layout guarantees high sensitivity and is validated by finite element simulations. The introduction of a passivation method (wax printing) allowed to complete the devices fabrication process, increasing their sensitivity. Indeed, the wax allowed reducing the interference related to the parasitic currents flowing through the permeable coating of the employed substrates, which was used for the chemical sintering, thus avoiding the common thermal treatment after printing. As a case study, we used the devices to develop an electrochemical aptamer-based sensor for the rapid detection of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in urine - a clinically important marker of acute kidney injury. The aptasensor platform is capable of detecting clinically relevant concentrations of NGAL with a simple and rapid smartphone readout. The developed technology may be extended in the future to continuous monitoring, taking advantage of its flexibility to integrate it in tubes, or to other diagnostic applications where cost/efficiency and rapidity of the research, development and implementation of point of care devices is a must.
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20
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Downs AM, Gerson J, Hossain MN, Ploense K, Pham M, Kraatz HB, Kippin T, Plaxco KW. Nanoporous Gold for the Miniaturization of In Vivo Electrochemical Aptamer-Based Sensors. ACS Sens 2021; 6:2299-2306. [PMID: 34038076 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.1c00354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Electrochemical aptamer-based sensors enable real-time molecular measurements in the living body. The spatial resolution of these measurements and ability to perform measurements in targeted locations, however, is limited by the length and width of the device's working electrode. Historically, achieving good signal to noise in the complex, noisy in vivo environment has required working electrode lengths of 3-6 mm. To enable sensor miniaturization, here we have enhanced the signaling current obtained for a sensor of given macroscopic dimensions by increasing its surface area. Specifically, we produced nanoporous gold via an electrochemical alloying/dealloying technique to increase the microscopic surface area of our working electrodes by up to 100-fold. Using this approach, we have miniaturized in vivo electrochemical aptamer-based (EAB) sensors (here using sensors against the antibiotic, vancomycin) by a factor of 6 while retaining sensor signal and response times. Conveniently, the fabrication of nanoporous gold is simple, parallelizable, and compatible with both two- and three-dimensional electrode architectures, suggesting that it may be of value to a range of electrochemical biosensor applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex M. Downs
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Julian Gerson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - M. Nur Hossain
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario M1C1A4, Canada
| | - Kyle Ploense
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Michael Pham
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Heinz-Bernhard Kraatz
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario M1C1A4, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Tod Kippin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- The Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Kevin W. Plaxco
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
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21
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Chen ZM, Wang Y, Du XY, Sun JJ, Yang S. Temperature-Alternated Electrochemical Aptamer-Based Biosensor for Calibration-Free and Sensitive Molecular Measurements in an Unprocessed Actual Sample. Anal Chem 2021; 93:7843-7850. [PMID: 34029050 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c00289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Frequently calibrating electrochemical biosensors (ECBs) to obtain acceptable accuracy can be cumbersome for the users. Thus, the achievement of calibration-free operation would effectively lead to commercial applications for ECBs in the real world. Herein, we fabricated a temperature-alternated electrochemical aptamer-based (TAEAB) sensor, producing a cycle of "enhanced-responsive and ∼nonresponsive" state at rapidly alternated interface temperatures (5 and 30 °C, respectively). The ratio of peak currents collected at two temperatures overcomes sensor-to-sensor fabrication variations, obviating sensor calibration prior to use due to its good reproducibility. We then demonstrated the capability of TAEAB sensors for improved, sensitive, and calibration-free measurement of different targets within 7 min, which respectively achieved a detection limit of 0.5 μM procaine in undiluted urine and 1.0 μM adenosine triphosphate in undiluted serum. This generalizable approach ameliorates sensitivity without the complicated amplification step, thus simplifying the operation procedure and reducing the detection time, which will effectively improve the clinical utility of biosensors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi-Min Chen
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Analytical Science of Food Safety and Biology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Analysis and Detection Technology for Food Safety, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China
| | - Yi Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Analytical Science of Food Safety and Biology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Analysis and Detection Technology for Food Safety, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China
| | - Xing-Yuan Du
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Analytical Science of Food Safety and Biology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Analysis and Detection Technology for Food Safety, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China
| | - Jian-Jun Sun
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Analytical Science of Food Safety and Biology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Analysis and Detection Technology for Food Safety, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China
| | - Sen Yang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Analytical Science of Food Safety and Biology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Analysis and Detection Technology for Food Safety, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China.,Key Laboratory of Targeting Therapy and Diagnosis for Critical Diseases Collaborative Innovation Center of New Drug Research and Safety Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
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22
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Shaver A, Kundu N, Young BE, Vieira PA, Sczepanski JT, Arroyo-Currás N. Nuclease Hydrolysis Does Not Drive the Rapid Signaling Decay of DNA Aptamer-Based Electrochemical Sensors in Biological Fluids. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2021; 37:5213-5221. [PMID: 33876937 PMCID: PMC8176561 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c00166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Electrochemical aptamer-based (E-AB) sensors are a technology capable of real-time monitoring of drug concentrations directly in the body. These sensors achieve their selectivity from surface-attached aptamers, which alter their conformation upon target binding, thereby causing a change in electron transfer kinetics between aptamer-bound redox reporters and the electrode surface. Because, in theory, aptamers can be selected for nearly any target of interest, E-AB sensors have far-reaching potential for diagnostic and biomedical applications. However, a remaining critical weakness in the platform lies in the time-dependent, spontaneous degradation of the bioelectronic interface. This progressive degradation-seen in part as a continuous drop in faradaic current from aptamer-attached redox reporters-limits the in vivo operational life of E-AB sensors to less than 12 h, prohibiting their long-term application for continuous molecular monitoring in humans. In this work, we study the effects of nuclease action on the signaling lifetime of E-AB sensors, to determine whether the progressive signal loss is caused by hydrolysis of DNA aptamers and thus the loss of signaling moieties from the sensor surface. We continuously interrogate sensors deployed in several undiluted biological fluids at 37 °C and inject nuclease to reach physiologically relevant concentrations. By employing both naturally occurring d-DNA and the nuclease-resistant enantiomer l-DNA, we determine that within the current lifespan of state-of-the-art E-AB sensors, nuclease hydrolysis is not the dominant cause of sensor signal loss under the conditions we tested. Instead, signal loss is driven primarily by the loss of monolayer elements-both blocking alkanethiol and aptamer monolayers-from the electrode surface. While use of l-DNA aptamers may extend the E-AB operational life in the long term, the critical issue of passive monolayer loss must be addressed before those effects can be seen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Shaver
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States
| | - Nandini Kundu
- Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77842, United States
| | - Brian E Young
- Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77842, United States
| | - Philip A Vieira
- Department of Psychology, California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, California 90747, United States
| | - Jonathan T Sczepanski
- Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77842, United States
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Institute for NanoBioTechnology, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
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23
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Pellitero MA, Curtis SD, Arroyo-Currás N. Interrogation of Electrochemical Aptamer-Based Sensors via Peak-to-Peak Separation in Cyclic Voltammetry Improves the Temporal Stability and Batch-to-Batch Variability in Biological Fluids. ACS Sens 2021; 6:1199-1207. [PMID: 33599479 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.0c02455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Electrochemical, aptamer-based (E-AB) sensors support continuous, real-time measurements of specific molecular targets in complex fluids such as undiluted serum. They achieve these measurements by using redox-reporter-modified, electrode-attached aptamers that undergo target binding-induced conformational changes which, in turn, change electron transfer between the reporter and the sensor surface. Traditionally, E-AB sensors are interrogated via pulse voltammetry to monitor binding-induced changes in transfer kinetics. While these pulse techniques are sensitive to changes in electron transfer, they also respond to progressive changes in the sensor surface driven by biofouling or monolayer desorption and, consequently, present a significant drift. Moreover, we have empirically observed that differential voltage pulsing can accelerate monolayer desorption from the sensor surface, presumably via field-induced actuation of aptamers. Here, in contrast, we demonstrate the potential advantages of employing cyclic voltammetry to measure electron-transfer changes directly. In our approach, the target concentration is reported via changes in the peak-to-peak separation, ΔEP, of cyclic voltammograms. Because the magnitude of ΔEP is insensitive to variations in the number of aptamer probes on the electrode, ΔEP-interrogated E-AB sensors are resistant to drift and show decreased batch-to-batch and day-to-day variability in sensor performance. Moreover, ΔEP-based measurements can also be performed in a few hundred milliseconds and are, thus, competitive with other subsecond interrogation strategies such as chronoamperometry but with the added benefit of retaining sensor capacitance information that can report on monolayer stability over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Aller Pellitero
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States
| | - Samuel D. Curtis
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
- Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
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24
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Abstract
Current knowledge of the disposition kinetics of endogenous metabolites is founded almost entirely on poorly time-resolved experiments in which samples are removed from the body for later, benchtop analysis. Here, in contrast, we describe real-time, seconds-resolved measurements of plasma phenylalanine collected in situ in the body via electrochemical aptamer-based (EAB) sensors, a platform technology that is independent of the reactivity of its targets and thus is generalizable to many. Specifically, using indwelling EAB sensors, we have monitored plasma phenylalanine in live rats with a few micromolar precision and a 12 s temporal resolution, identifying a large-amplitude, few-seconds phase in the animals' metabolic response that had not previously been reported. Using the hundreds of individual measurements that the approach provides from each animal, we also identify inter-subject variability, including statistically significant differences associated with the feeding status. These results highlight the power of in vivo EAB measurements, an advancement that could dramatically impact our understanding of physiology and provide a valuable new tool for the monitoring and treatment of metabolic disorders.
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25
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Grazioli C, Faura G, Dossi N, Toniolo R, Abate M, Terzi F, Bontempelli G. 3D printed portable instruments based on affordable electronics, smartphones and open-source microcontrollers suitable for monitoring food quality. Microchem J 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2020.105584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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26
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Su S, Ma J, Xu Y, Pan H, Zhu D, Chao J, Weng L, Wang L. Electrochemical Analysis of Target-Induced Hairpin-Mediated Aptamer Sensors. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2020; 12:48133-48139. [PMID: 32955243 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c12897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The state of probe DNA at the biosensing interface greatly affects the detection performance of electrochemical DNA biosensors. Herein, we constructed a target-induced hairpin-mediated biosensing interface to study the effect of probe DNA on the analytical performance of adenosine triphosphate aptamer (ATPA) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) detection. Moreover, we also explored the electrochemical contribution of the coexisting hairpin and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) to this sensing interface. Experimental results suggested that the molecular recognition ability and detection performance of the biosensing interface were majorly dependent on the surface density of methylene blue (MB)-labeled probe hairpin DNA and partly affected by the spatial state of the formed dsDNA. When the surface density of hairpin DNA was moderate (5.72 pmol cm-2), this sensing interface determined as low as 0.74 fM ATPA and 5.04 pM ATP with high selectivity and excellent regeneration, respectively. Furthermore, we calculated that the formed dsDNA had a 31.87% contribution in the total electrochemical signal for 10 pM ATPA detection. Based on the above results, we designed an XOR logic gate based on the biosensing interface for ATPA and ATP detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shao Su
- Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays (KLOEID) & Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Jianfeng Ma
- Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays (KLOEID) & Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Yongqiang Xu
- Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays (KLOEID) & Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Hemeng Pan
- Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays (KLOEID) & Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Dan Zhu
- Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays (KLOEID) & Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Jie Chao
- Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays (KLOEID) & Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Lixing Weng
- Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays (KLOEID) & Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China
- College of Geography and Biological Information, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Lianhui Wang
- Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays (KLOEID) & Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China
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27
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Fabrication of a novel electrochemical aptasensor assisted by a novel computerized monitoring system for real-time determination of the prostate specific antigen: A computerized experimental method brought elegancy. Microchem J 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2020.104898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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28
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Parolo C, Idili A, Ortega G, Csordas A, Hsu A, Arroyo-Currás N, Yang Q, Ferguson BS, Wang J, Plaxco KW. Real-Time Monitoring of a Protein Biomarker. ACS Sens 2020; 5:1877-1881. [PMID: 32619092 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.0c01085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The ability to monitor protein biomarkers continuously and in real-time would significantly advance the precision of medicine. Current protein-detection techniques, however, including ELISA and lateral flow assays, provide only time-delayed, single-time-point measurements, limiting their ability to guide prompt responses to rapidly evolving, life-threatening conditions. In response, here we present an electrochemical aptamer-based sensor (EAB) that supports high-frequency, real-time biomarker measurements. Specifically, we have developed an electrochemical, aptamer-based (EAB) sensor against Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL), a protein that, if present in urine at levels above a threshold value, is indicative of acute renal/kidney injury (AKI). When deployed inside a urinary catheter, the resulting reagentless, wash-free sensor supports real-time, high-frequency monitoring of clinically relevant NGAL concentrations over the course of hours. By providing an "early warning system", the ability to measure levels of diagnostically relevant proteins such as NGAL in real-time could fundamentally change how we detect, monitor, and treat many important diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Parolo
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Andrea Idili
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Gabriel Ortega
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Andrew Csordas
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Alex Hsu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Qin Yang
- Aptitude Medical Systems, Inc., Santa Barbara, California 93105, United States
| | | | - Jinpeng Wang
- Aptitude Medical Systems, Inc., Santa Barbara, California 93105, United States
| | - Kevin W. Plaxco
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Interdepartmental Program in Biomolecular Science and Engineering University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
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29
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Shaver A, Curtis SD, Arroyo-Currás N. Alkanethiol Monolayer End Groups Affect the Long-Term Operational Stability and Signaling of Electrochemical, Aptamer-Based Sensors in Biological Fluids. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2020; 12:11214-11223. [PMID: 32040915 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b22385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Electrochemical aptamer-based (E-AB) sensors achieve highly precise measurements of specific molecular targets in untreated biological fluids. This unique ability, together with their measurement frequency of seconds or faster, has enabled the real-time monitoring of drug pharmacokinetics in live animals with unprecedented temporal resolution. However, one important weakness of E-AB sensors is that their bioelectronic interface degrades upon continuous electrochemical interrogation-a process typically seen as a drop in faradaic and an increase in charging currents over time. This progressive degradation limits their in vivo operational life to 12 h at best, a period that is much shorter than the elimination half-life of the vast majority of drugs in humans. Thus, there is a critical need to develop novel E-AB interfaces that resist continuous electrochemical interrogation in biological fluids for prolonged periods. In response, our group is pursuing the development of better packed, more stable self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) to improve the signaling and extend the operational life of in vivo E-AB sensors from hours to days. By invoking hydrophobicity arguments, we have created SAMs that do not desorb from the electrode surface in aqueous physiological solutions and biological fluids. These SAMs, formed from 1-hexanethiol solutions, decrease the voltammetric charging currents of E-AB sensors by 3-fold relative to standard monolayers of 6-mercapto-1-hexanol, increase the total faradaic current, and alter the electron transfer kinetics of the platform. Moreover, the stability of our new SAMs enables uninterrupted, continuous E-AB interrogation for several days in biological fluids, like undiluted serum, at a physiological temperature of 37 °C.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Shaver
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States
| | - Samuel D Curtis
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
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