Portable electroanalytical nucleic acid amplification tests using printed circuit boards and open-source electronics

Analyst. 2022 Sep 26;147(19):4249-4256. doi: 10.1039/d2an00923d.

Abstract

The realization of electrochemical nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) at the point of care (POC) is highly desirable, but it remains a challenge given their high cost and lack of true portability/miniaturization. Here we show that mass-produced, industrial standardized, printed circuit boards (PCBs) can be repurposed to act as near-zero cost electrodes for self-assembled monolayer-based DNA biosensing, and further integration with a custom-designed and low-cost portable potentiostat. To show the analytical capability of this system, we developed a NAAT using isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification, bypassing the need of thermal cyclers, followed by an electrochemical readout relying on a sandwich hybridization assay. We used our sensor and device for analytical detection of the toxic microalgae Ostreopsis cf. ovata as a proof of concept. This work shows the potential of PCBs and open-source electronics to be used as powerful POC DNA biosensors at a low-cost.

MeSH terms

  • Biosensing Techniques*
  • DNA / genetics
  • Electronics
  • Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques*
  • Recombinases

Substances

  • Recombinases
  • DNA