3D-printed perovskite flowers on textile: a functional scaffold for aptamer based point-of-care breast cancer...

A portable and disposable aptasensing strategy is introduced in this study, that has merged 3D printing, perovskite chemistry and aptasensor technology onto a textile fabric substrate. This work involves the synthesis and characterization of CeCuO₃-LSCF perovskite nanocomposite (PNC) and its application in the fabrication of a 3D printed aptasensor for colorimetric identification of Mucin 1 (MUC1), one of the breast cancer biomarkers. Breast cancer has been reported to be among the leading causes of deaths in the world and late diagnosing is one of the major reasons of low survival rates. The method is projected to offer quick, sensitive, and cheap detection of reliable cancer biomarkers (MUC1) which will be used to aid early diagnosis in low resource rich areas. The CeCuO₃-LSCF PNC was synthesized and characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM, zeta potential, and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Immobilization of MUC1 specific aptamers offered target specificity, while colorimetric reaction was facilitated by the non-enzymatic catalytic activity of the perovskite material. When integrated with 3D printing, the customized aptasensor with flower shaped geometry exhibited high selectivity, stability and reproducibility, along with a linear detection range of 0.00391-1 U/mL and a low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.001 U/mL. Successful detection of MUC1 in human serum samples further validated its analytical reliability, with a recovery range of 96.5 to 98.08%. This work is not only a contribution to biosensor technology, but it also highlights the combination of nanomaterials and additive manufacturing in the development of strong, portable, and economical diagnostic devices.