Detecting multiple cell-secreted cytokines from the same aptamer-functionalized electrode.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Immunology

Background:

• Inflammatory cytokines like interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) are crucial biomarkers for disease diagnosis.
• Current methods for cytokine quantification can be limited in parallel detection capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an electrochemical aptasensor for the simultaneous detection of IFN-γ and TNF-α.
• To enable multiplexed cytokine analysis for illuminating inflammatory pathways.

Main Methods:

• Development of an electrochemical aptasensor using aptamers labeled with unique redox reporters (anthraquinone and methylene blue).
• Random immobilization of aptamers on a gold electrode for distinct redox peak detection.
• Integration of the aptasensor into microfluidic devices for dynamic monitoring of cytokine release from immune cells.

Main Results:

• The aptasensor demonstrated sensitive and specific detection of IFN-γ and TNF-α through changes in redox signals.
• Simultaneous monitoring of IFN-γ and TNF-α release from primary human CD4 T-cells and U937 monocytic cells was achieved over 2 hours.
• The strategy allows for multiplexed protein biomarker detection from a single electrode.

Conclusions:

• The developed electrochemical aptasensor offers a sensitive and specific platform for simultaneous quantification of multiple inflammatory cytokines.
• This technology has potential applications in disease diagnosis by analyzing inflammatory pathways and monitoring immune cell responses.