Automated and ultrasensitive point-of-care glycoprotein detection using boronate-affinity enhanced organic...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Biosensing Technology

Background:

• Current point-of-care (POC) diagnostic platforms lack the ultrasensitive components needed for trace glycoprotein quantification.
• Portable diagnostic tools often lack feedback mechanisms crucial for accurate glycoprotein measurement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a compact and ultrasensitive bioelectrochemical patch for POC glycoprotein diagnosis.
• To overcome the limitations of existing POC technologies in detecting low concentrations of glycoproteins.

Main Methods:

• Development of a bioelectrochemical patch utilizing boronate-affinity amplified organic electrochemical transistors (BAAOECTs).
• Leveraging cascading signal enhancement from boronate-affinity targeting and OECT amplification.
• Integration of microfluidic chip, microcontroller, and wireless sensing for automated sample-to-answer workflow.

Main Results:

• Achieved an ultrasensitive detection limit of 300 aM for glycoproteins within 25 minutes.
• Demonstrated a 3-order magnitude improvement in sensitivity compared to commercial electrochemical luminescence (ECL) kits.
• Successfully automated the testing workflow for resource-limited environments, validated in heart failure diagnostics.

Conclusions:

• The developed BAAOECTs biosensing platform offers remarkable sensitivity and an automated workflow for glycoprotein detection.
• This technology provides a prospective and generalized design for expanding POC diagnostic capabilities for various glycoproteins.
• The platform's reliability is confirmed for clinical applications, such as heart failure diagnosis.