A Label-Free Electrochemical Immunosensor For Beta-Amyloid Detection
A Label-Free Electrochemical Immunosensor For Beta-Amyloid Detection
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A label-free detection of beta-amyloid (bA) protein using an electrochemical immunosensor fabricated via
immobilizing specific anti-beta-amyloid antibodies (An-bA-Abs) onto an interdigitated electrode of gold
(IDE-Au) modified using a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate) [DTSP]
is presented here. The bA has been investigated as a potential biomarker for monitoring Alzheimer's
disease (AD), permanent irreversible and progressive brain damage. Thus bA detection at the pM level is
of high significance for AD diagnostics. The IDE-Au modification and covalent immobilization of An-bA-
Abs onto electrodes were characterized by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and electrochemical
impedance spectroscopy (EIS) as a function of electrical response variation in each step involved in
sensor fabrication. The EIS studies confirmed that the developed bA immunosensor is selective and
exhibits a detection limit of 10 pM, its detection range varies from 10 pM to 100 nM, and it has a high
sensitivity of 11 kU M1 with a regression coefficient of 0.99. Thus, the developed sensitive and selective
Received 5th July 2016
Accepted 9th July 2016
immunosensor with the features of the IDE-Au can be integrated with a miniaturized potentiostat (M-P)
to develop a sensing system to detect bA for point-of-care (POC) applications for the assessment and
DOI: 10.1039/c6ay01910b
management of AD. The bio-informatics gathered from such a system could be useful to make timely
www.rsc.org/methods therapeutic decisions.
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016 Anal. Methods, 2016, 8, 6115–6120 | 6115
Analytical Methods Paper
2. Experimental methods
2.1. Materials and methods
DTSP, sodium borohydride (NaBH4), bA peptides of 1–40 amino
acid chains (#131438-79-4), and bovine serum albumin (BSA)
were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich and were used without any
further purication. Highly specic polyclonal anti-beta-
amyloid antibodies (An-bA-Abs) were obtained from Thermo
Fisher Scientic (PA3-16760). Phosphate buffer saline (PBS)
Fig. 1 Rapid detection of bA needed for the assessment of AD solution (10 mM, pH 7.4) was prepared by dissolving one PBS
progression. tablet in 200 mL of de-ionized (DI) water. The PBS (pH 7.4) water
was used to prepare stock solutions of An-bA-Abs (1 mg mL1)
and bA (1 mg mL1, incubated for 4 days at 37 C) and both the
solutions were stored at 20 C for future experiments. The
reduced form factors.14,15 Furthermore, efforts are being made
IDE-Au (chamber volume 5 mL; electrode width and electrode
for developing these sensing systems for POC applications for
gap 10 mm), performed three-electrode based electrochemical
personalized health monitoring. Although a few electro-
measurement, was procured from Micrux Technologies.
chemical,7,16,17 ELISA assay18,19 and surface plasma resonance20,21
based sensors have demonstrated bA detection at micro- and
sub-micro levels, the bA detection at the pM level to diagnose 2.2. Preparation of bA electrochemical sensor
AD at an early stage is not demonstrated well. Thus, there is an The proposed electrochemical bA immunosensor was fabri-
urgent need to develop a miniaturized electrochemical sensing cated onto a DTSAP-SAM modied IDE-Au using specic An-bA-
protocol for detecting bA at a very low level. The need for rapid Abs for the detection of bA1–40 at the pM level. Prior to the start
bA assessment using an electrochemical immunosensing of sensor fabrication, the IDE-Au was cleaned electrochemically
strategy is illustrated in Fig. 1. using cyclic voltammetry (CV) using 5 mL of 0.1 M H2SO4 at
In this work, we have fabricated an electrochemical immu- 50 mV s1 scan rate as a function of varying cycles (optimized
nosensor via immobilizing specic An-bA-Abs onto a DTSP-SAM CV cycles were estimated to be 7). The CV studies of the IDE-Au
functionalized IDE-Au to detect bA in the physiological range. exhibited a repeatable and reproducible electrochemical
As a proof of the concept, we selected anti-bA1–40 antibody as response within 1–2% and with no morphological damage.22
a model immobilizing antibody to detect bA1–40 protein. Thus The electrochemically cleaned IDE-Au was dispersed in
the developed sensor is miniaturized and can be integrated to a 2 mg mL1 solution of DTSP for 2 h to prepare a thin layer of
develop a portable sensing system to detect bA for POC appli- DTSP-SAM via thiol binding. The detailed procedure adopted
cations. The bA/An-bA-Abs/DTSP-SAM/IDE-Au immunosensor for electrochemical cleaning and SAM modication of the IDE-
detected bA at pM levels within 40 minutes. In future, this Au has been published in our previous publication.22 10 mL of
well-characterized and optimized sensor fabrication protocol 1 mg mL1 An-bA-Abs were immobilized via electrostatic
can be modied to develop an efficient electrochemical interactions onto the DTSP-SAM/IDE-Au for 2 h. The non-
immuno-sensor using antibodies specic to b-A1–42 to detect binding sites of An-bA-Abs/DTSP-SAM-SAM/IDE-Au immuno-
toxic bA1–42 protein. The outcome of this bA sensing device will electrodes were blocked using BSA protein (10 mL of 1 mg mL1)
Fig. 2 Illustration of the fabrication of an IDE-Au based immunosensor to detect bA1–40 peptide.
6116 | Anal. Methods, 2016, 8, 6115–6120 This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016
Paper Analytical Methods
for 30 minutes. The immuno-electrodes were washed using PBS DTSP-SAM/IDE-Au (curve b), An-bA-Abs/DTSP-SAM/IDE-Au
(pH 7.4, 10 mM) to remove any unbound molecules. Such (curve c), and BSA/An-bA-Abs/DTSP-SAM/IDE-Au (curve d). The
fabricated immuno-electrodes i.e., BSA/An-bA-Abs/DTSP-SAM/ electrochemically cleaned IDE-Au showed a typical Nyquist plot,
IDE-Au were refrigerated at 4 C, when not in use. consisting of a semicircle corresponding to charge transfer
resistance (Rct) generated at the electrode followed by a linear
2.3. Characterization technique line (45 to the X axis) corresponding to bulk properties of the
Multiple steps including the electrochemical cleaning of IDE- substrate (curve a). The diameter of the semicircle of the TDE-
Au, fabrication of DTP-SAM on the IDE-Au, and immobilization Au was found to be increased revealing an increase in Rct aer
of An-bA-Abs followed by BSA were characterized using differ- the fabrication of the DTSP-SAM on the IDE-Au (curve b). This
ential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and electrochemical impedance conrmed that the successful fabrication of the SAM on the
spectroscopy (EIS) in PBS (pH 7.4, 5 mM containing 5 mM Fe(II)/ IDE-Au results in hindrance in electron transport due to the
Fe(III)), as redox moieties, using an Autolab potentiostat/galva- insulating nature of the DTSP-SAM. Aer immobilizing the An-
nostat (Eco Chemie, Netherlands)]. Since at pH 7.4 biomole- bA-Abs onto the STSP-SAM/IDE-Au (curve c), the diameter of the
cules retain their biological activity and structure, PBS of pH 7.4 semicircle increases again, suggesting binding of the Abs with
was selected as an electrolyte to conduct all electrochemical DTSP resulting in a high Rct value due to hindered electron
measurements. The electrochemical sensing of the immuno- transport from the medium to the IDE-Au. The value of Rct
sensor as a function of bA concentrations was performed using increases further on immobilizing BSA onto the An-bA-Abs/
EIS in PBS (pH 7.4, 5 mM containing 5 mM Fe(II)/Fe(III)). The DTSP-SAM/IDE-Au conrming the binding of BSA with the
schematic illustration of the electrochemical fabrication and immunoelectrode (curve d). BSA is a well-known non-conduct-
sensing strategy is shown in Fig. 2. ing protein used to block the non-binding sites of the
immunoelectrode.
The ndings of EIS studies were found to be correlated with
3. Results and discussion DPV studies as shown in Fig. 3B. The results of the DPV studies
3.1. Electrochemical characterization of the electrode and showed that the IDE-Au (curve a) is electrochemically respon-
immunosensor sive and exhibits a well-dened oxidative response. The
The results of EIS studies to conrm the stepwise fabrication of magnitude of the electrochemical signal of the IDE-Au
the bA immunosensor are shown in Fig. 3A, IDE-Au (curve a), decreases on deposition of the DTSP-SAM (curve b) due to the
insulating nature of DTSP which hinders electron transport
from the medium to the IDE-Au. On immobilization of the Abs
onto the DTSP-SAM electrode, the electrochemical response
decreases due to binding of An-bA-Abs with DTSP which affects
the electron transport (curve c). The immobilization of BSA onto
the An-bA-Abs/DTSP-SAM/IDE (curve d) also reduces the
magnitude of the electrochemical response suggesting BSA
immobilization and conrming the blocking of non-binding
sites of the immunosensor. As a proof-of-the-concept, the
electrochemical response of the immuno-electrode was
measured by adding 10 pM bA (10 mL) for 30 minutes. A
reduction in the current magnitude (Fig. 3B curve e) conrmed
that the sensor is responsive to bA only.
The EIS method is one of the best non-invasive analytical
tools utilized for monitoring biological phenomena such as
protein–protein interaction,23–25 bio-sensing,26 nano-toxicity27
and tumour–drug interaction.28 Therefore, EIS was selected for
bA sensing, as described in the next section, due to its above
mentioned salient features and the availability of a M-P capable
of performing EIS and the feature of interfacing with a mobile
needed for data storage and POC applications.
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016 Anal. Methods, 2016, 8, 6115–6120 | 6117
Analytical Methods Paper
6118 | Anal. Methods, 2016, 8, 6115–6120 This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016
Paper Analytical Methods
Table 1 Comparison of the obtained sensing parameters with the reported sensorsa
SM ¼ 3,30 -dithiobis(sulfosuccinimidyl)propionate (DTSSP)/Au Study explored mA (5 mM) aggregation over time (0.5 to 48 7
RM ¼ bA1–40 via specic antibodies (OC and A11) h)
ST ¼ EIS using [Fe(CN)6]3/4 as a mediator R ¼ this research explored bA aggregation and docking.
T ¼ Rct However, all sensing parameters need optimization
SM ¼ LBL sensor construction from SPE/co-polymer, derived DL ¼ 0.5 pM 16
from a mixture of tyramine and its carboxylic acid analogue, 3- Other sensing parameters need optimization
(4-hydroxyphenyl) propionic acid
RM ¼ bA oligomers via a mediator using the synthetic non- R ¼ the presented multi-component system is for oligomer
antibody PrPC fragment as a bioreceptor only. The study needs to be performed on bA
ST ¼ EIS
T ¼ Rct
SM ¼ glassy carbon electrode (GCE) RSD ¼ 0.3 to 1.4 (bA1–40), 0.4 to 3% (bA1–42) 17
RM ¼ bA1–40/42 via antibody DL ¼ 0.7 mg mL1
ST ¼ square wave voltammetry (SWV) DT ¼ 300 (bA1–40) 700 (bA1–42)
T ¼ I(a) R ¼ detection limit is high
SM ¼ screen printed electrode modied using Au DR ¼ 0.5 to 500 ng mL1 30
nanoparticles
RM ¼ bA1–42 protein detection using biotin labeling DL ¼ 0.1 ng mL1
ST ¼ electrochemical/CV R ¼ very efficient sensor and there is scope to improve
T ¼ I (a) sensing parameters
SM ¼ SAM of Au nanoparticles prepared by screen printing DR ¼ 0.001 to 200 mM, for bA1–40 and bA1–42 31
RM ¼ bA1–40/bA1–42 protein detection using specic
antibodies
ST ¼ electrochemical/EIS DL ¼ 2.04 mM for bA1–40, 0.57 mM for bA1–42
T ¼ Rct R ¼ there is scope to improve the sensitivity of this sensor
SM ¼ SAM on a Au-coated SPR chip DR ¼ 50 to 10 000 ng mL1 21
RM ¼ 17-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 10 (17b- DL ¼ 0.5 nM
HSD10) enzyme/peptide onto a bA1–40 immobilized surface
ST ¼ SPR R ¼ DL is very high
T ¼ optical
SM ¼ polymer modied Au-coated SPR DL ¼ 50 mM 32
RM ¼ bA1–40/aggregation in the presence of metals R ¼ this sensor needs more optimization
ST ¼ SPR imaging
T ¼ uorescence intensity
SM ¼ silicon/silicon oxide microarray DR ¼ 0.1 to 100 ng mL1 33
RM ¼ bA1–42 binding with Cov-12F14/Cov-6E10 DL ¼ 73 pg mL1
ST ¼ interferometric reectance imaging sensor R ¼ DL is very high
T ¼ uorescence intensity
SM ¼ DTSP/IDE-Au DR ¼ 10 pM to 100 nM Present
RM ¼ bA1–40 via specic Abs DL ¼ 10 pM research
ST ¼ EIS using [Fe(CN)6]3/4 as a mediator DT ¼ 40 minutes
T ¼ Rct S ¼ 11 kU M1
R ¼ obtained sensing parameters are in the physiological
range. The sensor fabricated on the IDE-Au can be used to
design a miniaturized system for POC applications
a
Sensing material [SM], Recognition Marker [RM], Sensing Technique [ST], Transduction [T], Detection Range [DR], Detection Limit [DL],
Sensitivity [S], Detection Time [DT], Relative standard deviation (RSD), and Remark [R].
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016 Anal. Methods, 2016, 8, 6115–6120 | 6119
Analytical Methods Paper
APP Amyloid precursor protein 14 A. F. D. Cruz, N. Norena, A. Kaushik and S. Bhansali, Biosens.
DPV Differential pulse voltammetry Bioelectron., 2014, 62, 249–254.
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