Smartphone-based portable photoelectrochemical biosensing system for point-of-care detection of urine creatinine and albumin

Lab Chip. 2023 Jul 25;23(15):3424-3432. doi: 10.1039/d3lc00238a.

Abstract

Creatinine and albumin are crucial biomarkers for health monitoring and their ratio in urine is an effective approach for albuminuria assessment. Herein, to address the challenges of point-of-care and efficient analysis of the biomarkers simultaneously, we developed a fully integrated handheld smartphone-based photoelectrochemical biosensing system. A miniaturized printed circuit board included a potentiostat for photocurrent measurements and single-wavelength light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for photo-excitation, which was controlled with a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)/chitosan nanocomposites were modified on a transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode as photoactive materials. Creatinine was detected through chelate formation with copper ion probes, while albumin was recognized specifically by an antigen-antibody reaction based on immunoassay. The biosensing system demonstrated good linearity and high sensitivity, with detection ranges of 100 μg mL-1 to 1500 μg mL-1 for creatinine, and 9.9 μg mL-1 to 500 μg mL-1 for albumin. Spiked artificial urine samples with different concentrations were tested to confirm the practical validity of the biosensing system, where an acceptable recovery rate ranged from 98.7% to 105.3%. This portable photoelectrochemical biosensing platform provides a convenient and cost-effective method for biofluid analysis, which has an extensive prospect in point-of-care testing (POCT) for mobile health.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Albumins
  • Biomarkers
  • Biosensing Techniques* / methods
  • Creatinine
  • Electrochemical Techniques / methods
  • Limit of Detection
  • Point-of-Care Systems
  • Smartphone*

Substances

  • Creatinine
  • Biomarkers
  • Albumins