Development of an electrochemical-based aspartate aminotransferase nanoparticle ir-C biosensor for screening of liver diseases

Chang-Jung Hsueh; Joanne H Wang; Liming Dai; Chung-Chiun Liu

doi:10.3390/bios2020234

Development of an electrochemical-based aspartate aminotransferase nanoparticle ir-C biosensor for screening of liver diseases

Biosensors (Basel). 2012 May 29;2(2):234-44. doi: 10.3390/bios2020234.

Authors

Chang-Jung Hsueh¹, Joanne H Wang², Liming Dai³, Chung-Chiun Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering and Electronics Design Center, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. cxh300@case.edu.
² Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 222 Richmond Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA. joanne_wang@brown.edu.
³ Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. liming.dai@case.edu.
⁴ Department of Chemical Engineering and Electronics Design Center, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. cxl9@case.edu.

Abstract

Aspartate aminotransaminase (AST) is a hepatocelluar enzyme released into the bloodstream when hepatic cells are damaged, resulting in elevated blood levels of AST. A single use, disposable biosensor prototype, composed of catalytic iridium nano-particles dispersed on carbon paste, was developed to detect enzymatically-produced H2O2 in AST-mediated reactions. This biosensor is capable of measuring AST levels in a phosphate buffer and undiluted human serum over the concentration range of 0 to 0.89 μg/mL AST concentration (corresponding to 0-250 UL-1 specific activity). The biosensor operates at relatively low oxidation potential (+0.3 volt (V) versus the printed Ag/AgCl), minimizing any potential chemical interference in human serum. The measurements of AST in human serum using the biosensor compared well with those measured by standard hospital spectrophotometric assays. This Ir-C biosensor may be useful for AST measurements in the clinical environment.