Development of a Femtosensitive Electrochemical Aptasensor for Tuberculosis Ag85B Detection

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Molecular Diagnostics

Background:

• Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant global health issue, particularly in resource-limited areas.
• Current diagnostic methods are often slow, lack sensitivity, and require specialized labs.
• There is a critical need for rapid, sensitive, and affordable point-of-care TB diagnostic tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel electrochemical aptasensor for the sensitive and selective detection of the TB biomarker Antigen 85B (Ag85B).
• To address the limitations of traditional TB diagnostic methods by creating a rapid detection system.

Main Methods:

• Screening a DNA library to identify aptamers with high binding affinity for Ag85B.
• Immobilizing selected aptamers on gold nanoparticle-modified screen-printed carbon electrodes.
• Optimizing aptasensor parameters to achieve a low detection limit.

Main Results:

• Identified high-affinity aptamers specific for Ag85B through iterative selection.
• Developed an electrochemical aptasensor with a remarkable detection limit of 0.2 fM for Ag85B.
• Demonstrated excellent selectivity, stability, and reusability of the developed aptasensor.

Conclusions:

• The developed aptasensor is a promising tool for rapid and reliable diagnosis of Tuberculosis.
• This technology has the potential to improve TB detection, especially in resource-limited settings.
• The aptasensor's high sensitivity and selectivity pave the way for advanced point-of-care diagnostics.