Competitive USB-Powered Hand-Held Potentiostat for POC Applications: An HRP Detection Case

Area of Science:

• Electrochemical biosensors
• Point-of-care diagnostics
• Miniaturized analytical instrumentation

Background:

• Point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tests require miniaturized, sensitive, and user-friendly measurement equipment.
• Conventional diagnostic systems are often costly and less accessible for near-patient testing.
• Electrochemical biosensors rely on sensitive detection methods for accurate diagnostics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, fabricate, and characterize a low-cost, portable, miniaturized USB-powered potentiostat for electrochemical analysis.
• To evaluate the performance of the developed platform against high-cost commercial equipment.
• To demonstrate the utility of the portable potentiostat for sensitive detection of key biomarkers.

Main Methods:

• Development of a portable potentiostat platform (10.5 × 5.8 × 2.5 cm, 41 g, ~$85 USD).
• Integration of power, front-end (dual-supply potentiostat), and back-end (microcontroller, LabVIEW GUI) modules.
• Performance evaluation using chronoamperometric detection of horseradish peroxidase (HRP).

Main Results:

• The portable potentiostat achieved a detection range for HRP from 0.01 ng·mL^-1 to 1 µg·mL^-1.
• Results obtained with the miniaturized platform were comparable to three commercial electrochemical systems.
• The device offers plug-and-play operation via a USB connection to any computer.

Conclusions:

• The developed low-cost, portable potentiostat is a viable alternative to expensive commercial equipment for electrochemical analysis.
• This miniaturized device facilitates sensitive and accurate point-of-care diagnostics.
• The platform's ease of use and portability enhance accessibility for near-patient testing.