Portable, Wireless Potentiostat Sensor for Ultra-Sensitive, Real-Time Detection of 5hmC in Genomic DNA Using...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Aberrant genomic 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) levels are linked to various cancers.
• Accurate 5hmC quantification is crucial for cancer diagnosis, understanding disease progression, and guiding therapy.
• Existing methods for 5hmC detection can be time-consuming and lack portability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a portable, wireless, and ultrasensitive sensor for real-time 5hmC-DNA quantification.
• To synthesize and characterize a novel tree-like graphene (teG) material for enhanced biosensing performance.
• To validate the sensor's efficacy in differentiating cancerous and noncancerous biological samples.

Main Methods:

• Cost-effective synthesis of tree-like graphene (teG) via one-pot electrochemical exfoliation of pencil graphite.
• Fabrication of a teG-modified screen-printed microelectrode integrated with a portable, wireless potentiostat.
• Label-free, open-circuit potential (OCP)-based electrochemical detection with wireless data transmission to a mobile application.

Main Results:

• The teG-modified electrode demonstrated high sensitivity (6.15 × 10^-6 mM^-1 cm^-2) and an ultralow detection limit of 12.6 fM for 5hmC-DNA.
• The sensor successfully quantified 5hmC levels in genomic DNA from mouse tissues, hepatocellular carcinoma, and prostate cancer cell lines.
• The wireless system effectively distinguished 5hmC levels between cancerous and noncancerous cells in real-time.

Conclusions:

• Tree-like graphene (teG) is a highly effective material for electrochemical biosensing due to its superior conductivity and surface area.
• The developed portable, wireless sensor offers a rapid, cost-effective, and sensitive platform for 5hmC quantification.
• This technology holds significant potential for early cancer diagnostics and personalized treatment monitoring.