Test Strip Platform Spin-Off for Telomerase Activity Detection: Development of an Electrochemical Biosensor

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Oncology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Telomerase is a key cancer biomarker due to its overexpression in cancer cells.
• Existing methods for telomerase detection can be complex and time-consuming.
• There is a need for rapid, portable, and sensitive cancer biomarker detection tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel biosensing strip (BBS) for detecting telomerase activity (TA).
• To utilize electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) for sensitive TA detection.
• To assess the feasibility of BBS for distinguishing between cancerous and non-cancerous clinical samples.

Main Methods:

• A gold interdigital electrode array (GID) was modified with immobilized single-strand DNA (ssDNA) probes.
• The BBS was exposed to telomerase-positive cell extracts and uterine biopsy samples.
• Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to measure changes in charge-transfer resistance (Rct).
• Telomerase activity was correlated with changes in Rct and Rct change rate.

Main Results:

• The BBS demonstrated a detection limit of 2.94 × 10^4 cells/mL for telomerase-positive extracts.
• Significant changes in Rct were observed upon exposure to telomerase.
• Preliminary studies indicated the potential to differentiate endometrial adenocarcinoma samples based on TA presence.

Conclusions:

• The developed BBS is a promising tool for sensitive telomerase activity detection.
• The technology shows potential for application as a portable cancer biomarker sensor.
• Further validation is needed, but the BBS shows feasibility for clinical diagnostics, particularly for endometrial cancer.