μDrop: Multi-analyte portable electrochemical-sensing device for blood-based detection of cleaved tau and neuron filament light in traumatic brain injury patients

Sultan Khetani; Anupriya Singh; Brendon Besler; Savitri Butterworth; Thomas Lijnse; Kenneth Loughery; Katrin Smith; Ehsan Hosseini; Rakesh Narang; Kunal Karan; Chantel Debert; Arindom Sen; Kartikeya Murari; Amir Sanati- Nezhad

doi:10.1016/j.bios.2021.113033

μDrop: Multi-analyte portable electrochemical-sensing device for blood-based detection of cleaved tau and neuron filament light in traumatic brain injury patients

Biosens Bioelectron. 2021 Apr 15:178:113033. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2021.113033. Epub 2021 Jan 23.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ BioMEMS and Bioinspired Microfluidic Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada; Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
² Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
³ Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
⁴ Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
⁵ Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Alberta Children Hospital Research Institute for Child and Maternal Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Foothills Medical Centre, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2H 2T9, Canada.
⁶ Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada; Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada; Center for Bioengineering Research and Education, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada; Pharmaceutical Production Research Facility, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
⁷ Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
⁸ BioMEMS and Bioinspired Microfluidic Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada; Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada; Center for Bioengineering Research and Education, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada. Electronic address: amir.sanatinezhad@ucalgary.ca.

PMID: 33517230
DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2021.113033

Abstract

Over 27 million individuals are affected every year worldwide with central nervous system (CNS) injuries. These injuries include but are not limited to traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI). CNS injuries remain a significant public health concern which demands reliable tools for rapid, on-sight, on-field, and point-of-care diagnostic (POC) solutions. To address these challenges, we developed a low-cost, open-source, hand-held, portable, and POC detection technology, termed as MicroDrop (μDrop), which can simultaneously detect up to eight target biomolecules and display results in both analog and digital formats. The data acquired is stored wirelessly in a cloud server for further investigation and statistical analysis. Multiplexing capability of μDrop and immuno-biosensors detects and quantifies Cleaved-Tau Protein (C-Tau) and Neuron-Filament (NFL) proteins in the blood of TBI patients. Immuno-biosensors rapidly sense the two target proteins in less than 30 min, with μDrop and a conventional potentiostat. C-Tau and NFL were selectively detected with μDrop within the dynamic range of 10 pg/mL - 100 ng/mL and the sensitivity range of 47 μA/pg mm² - 65 μA/pg mm². Comparing the biosensing performance with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) shows that the immuno-biosensors combined with μDrop could successfully differentiate between clinical controls and injured patients.

Keywords: Biomedical device; Cleaved-tau protein (C-Tau); Electrochemical immuno-biosensor; Neuron filament protein (NFL); Traumatic brain injury (TBI).

MeSH terms

Biomarkers
Biosensing Techniques*
Brain Injuries, Traumatic* / diagnosis
Humans
Neurons
tau Proteins

Substances

Biomarkers
tau Proteins