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Polymeric optical fiber biosensor with PAMAM dendrimer-based surface modification and PlGF detection for
Ratan Kumar Chaudhary1, Narayanan Madaboosi2, Jitendra Satija3
1Department of Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036, India.
Insights
A new plasmonic fiber optic absorbance biosensor (P-FAB) detects placental growth factor (PlGF) for early pre-eclampsia (PE) diagnosis. This rapid, sensitive method offers a cost-effective screening tool for pregnant women.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Optical Biosensing
- Point-of-Care Diagnostics
Background:
- Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a severe pregnancy complication necessitating early detection for improved maternal and neonatal outcomes.
- Current diagnostic methods for PE may lack the speed and affordability required for widespread, on-site screening.
- Placental growth factor (PlGF) is a key blood biomarker for PE diagnosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a rapid, sensitive, and affordable biosensor for detecting placental growth factor (PlGF) for pre-eclampsia (PE) screening.
- To establish a novel surface modification technique for enhanced bioreceptor immobilization on optical fiber probes.
- To validate the performance of the developed biosensor using clinical samples.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of U-bent polymeric optical fiber (POF) sensor probes using polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).
- Surface modification of POF probes with poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers for enhanced bioreceptor immobilization.
- Development of a plasmonic fiber optic absorbance biosensor (P-FAB) employing a sandwich immunoassay with anti-PlGF antibodies and gold nanoparticle labels.
- Detection of PlGF using the P-FAB strategy with a limit of detection (LoD) of 0.19 pg/mL in buffer and 0.57 pg/mL in diluted serum.
Main Results:
- The novel PAMAM dendrimer modification significantly improved bioreceptor immobilization compared to linear molecules.
- The P-FAB strategy enabled femtomolar concentration detection of PlGF within 30 minutes.
- Clinical sample testing demonstrated high accuracy, reliability, specificity, and sensitivity of the sensor platform for PE diagnosis.
Conclusions:
- The developed plasmonic fiber optic absorbance biosensor (P-FAB) offers a promising, cost-effective solution for early pre-eclampsia (PE) screening.
- The sensor's high sensitivity and rapid detection capabilities facilitate timely intervention, potentially reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.
- This technology paves the way for accessible, on-site PE diagnostics.
Abstract:
Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a life-threatening complication that occurs during pregnancy, affecting a large number of pregnant women and newborns worldwide. Rapid, on-site and affordable screening of PE at an early stage is necessary to ensure timely treatment and minimize both maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality rates. Placental growth factor (PlGF) is an angiogenic blood biomarker used for PE diagnosis. Herein, we report the plasmonic fiber optic absorbance biosensor (P-FAB) strategy for detecting PlGF at femtomolar concentration using polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) based U-bent polymeric optical fiber (POF) sensor probes. A novel poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer based PMMA surface modification is established to obtain a greater immobilization of the bioreceptors compared to a linear molecule like hexamethylenediamine (HMDA). Plasmonic sandwich immunoassay was realized by immobilizing the mouse anti-PlGF (3H1) on the U-bent POF sensor probe surface and gold nanoparticles (AuNP) labels conjugated with mouse anti-PlGF (6H9). The POF sensor probes could measure PlGF within 30 min using the P-FAB strategy. The limit-of-detection (LoD) was found to be 0.19 pg/mL and 0.57 pg/mL in phosphate-buffered saline and 10× diluted serum, respectively. The clinical sample testing, with eleven positive and eleven negative preeclamptic pregnancy samples, successfully confirmed the accuracy, reliability, specificity, and sensitivity of the P-FAB based POF sensor platform, thereby paving the way for cost-effective technology for PlGF detection and its potential for pre-eclampsia diagnosis.
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