Telomerase-driven dual-end amplification for sensitive electrochemical biosensing of telomerase activity

Accurate evaluation and reliable quantification of telomerase activity in cancer cells are essential for early cancer diagnosis and treatment. In this work, we developed a sensitive and reliable electrochemical method for telomerase detection, based on the electrocatalytic signal amplification of acetaminophen (AP) by monodispersed gold nanorods (Au NRs) and ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC). Signal switching is achieved via the incorporation of dideoxycytidine, while cobalt ions regulate sequence extension, enabling the efficient immobilization of Au NR-labeled signal probes on the electrode surface. The proposed biosensor exhibits excellent stability, specificity, and repeatability, highlighting its strong potential for sensitive and accurate in vitro cancer diagnostics. This strategy may contribute to the advancement of early cancer screening technologies. However, challenges remain for clinical translation, including the complexity of real biological samples and the need for standardized large-scale fabrication. Addressing these limitations will be critical for the development of next-generation biosensing platforms.