Aim: To demonstrate the design, fabrication and testing of a portable, label-free biosensor for ultrasensitive detection of the cardiac Troponin-T (cTnT) from patient blood.
Materials & methods: The biosensor is comprised of a nanoporous membrane integrated on to a microelectrode sensor platform for nanoconfinement effects. Charge perturbations due to antigen binding are recorded as impedance changes using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.
Results: The measured impedance change is used to quantitatively determine the cTnT concentration from the tested sample. We were successful in detecting and quantifying cardiac Troponin-T from a 40-patient cohort. The limit of detection was 0.01 pg/ml.
Conclusion: This novel technology has promising preliminary results for rapid and sensitive detection of cTnT.
Keywords: Troponin-T; electrical double layer; impedance spectroscopy; nanoconfinement; nanoporous.