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Updated: Sep 18, 2025

Nanosensors to Detect Protease Activity In Vivo for Noninvasive Diagnostics
Published on: July 16, 2018
An Ultrasensitive Wearable Nanosensor for Minimally Invasive Self-Screening of Alzheimer's Disease
Qiyu Wang1, Xin Sun2, Xueshen Wu1
1School of Biomedical Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, P. R. China.
Abstract:
The rising global prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has emerged as a critical public health challenge, placing strain on families, communities, and healthcare systems. Despite advances in diagnostic methods, current techniques for early AD detection remain limited, often being invasive, costly, and impractical for regular use. Here, we report a fully integrated wearable nanosensor offering an easily accessible and user-friendly strategy for AD screening. This biosensing platform incorporates a microneedle-based interstitial fluid (ISF) sampling device and an ultrasensitive graphene field-effect transistor (GFET) chip, enabling rapid and precise detection of AD biomarkers. Furthermore, this nanosensor was successfully validated in transgenic murine models, demonstrating reliable differentiation between AD and non-AD mouse groups with high specificity. Overall, this study offers a promising alternative tool to the existing invasive and expensive techniques for the AD preliminary screening, paving the way for drug discovery, early diagnosis, and personalized treatment of AD.

