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Updated: Jan 17, 2026

In Vitro Selection of Aptamers to Differentiate Infectious from Non-Infectious Viruses
Published on: September 7, 2022
Disposable electrochemical aptasensor for rapid and selective vancomycin detection in clinical samples: Bridging
Magdolna Casian1, Oana Hosu-Stancioiu2, Ioana Manea2
1Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 4 Pasteur Street, 400349, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Departamento de Química Física y Analítica, Universidad de Oviedo, Av. Julián Clavería 8, 33006, Oviedo, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias, Av. de Roma s/n, 33011, Oviedo, Spain.
A new electrochemical aptasensor offers rapid, cost-effective vancomycin monitoring. This device aids therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for critical infections, showing promise for clinical use.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Analytical Chemistry
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Antibiotic resistance is a significant global health challenge.
- Vancomycin is crucial for treating resistant infections but requires therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) due to its narrow therapeutic index.
- Current TDM methods can be costly and time-consuming.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a disposable electrochemical aptasensor for rapid and cost-effective vancomycin monitoring.
- To identify and validate high-affinity aptamers for vancomycin detection.
- To assess the performance of the aptasensor in clinical samples.
Main Methods:
- Selection of high-affinity vancomycin aptamers using magnetic bead-based SELEX.
- Confirmation of aptamer binding using surface plasmon resonance and computational modeling.
- Fabrication of an electrochemical aptasensor on screen-printed gold electrodes via multipulse-assisted immobilization.
Main Results:
- The aptasensor exhibited a linear response for vancomycin concentrations between 2.5 and 50 μM.
- A low detection limit of 1.5 μM was achieved, suitable for clinical trough concentrations (10-13.5 μM).
- The sensor demonstrated comparable performance to standard immunoassays when validated in undiluted clinical samples.
Conclusions:
- The developed electrochemical aptasensor provides a promising, cost-effective, and rapid tool for vancomycin TDM.
- This technology can improve patient management for infections treated with vancomycin.
- Further implementation could enhance accessibility to precise drug level monitoring in clinical settings.

