Rapid Detection of Inflammation-Related Biomarkers Using an Electrochemical Sensor Modified with a PBNC-AuNS-GO-Based Nanocomposite

Inflammation is the immune system response when the healthy tissues of the body are damaged by different factors, such as bacteria, viruses, and toxins. Also, when widespread inflammation happens in the body, it can lead to specific conditions that are a significant cause of hospital morbidity and mortality worldwide, e.g., sepsis. Though many inflammation-related biomarkers can be used for the diagnosis of the clinical syndrome, most of the standard tests have a long turnaround time, high cost, and the need for medically trained personnel. Considering the urgency to develop a faster and multitarget method to prevent the aggravation of inflammatory responses using a small volume of human blood samples, herein is the first part of a study focusing on the design and fabrication of a flexible polymer-based device, with a metal-based nanocomposite, to detect three inflammation-related biomarkers (lactate, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6) that are also detected in high levels during the different stages of inflammation. The working electrode surface was modified with Prussian blue nanocubes, gold nanostars, and graphene oxide to improve the sensitivity and selectivity, enhancing the surface area, electrical conductivity, and electroactivity. Differential pulse voltammetry measurements were recorded while the serum sample was injected with different target concentrations in the channel. The bioreceptors recognize and bind the targets changing the peak currents based on the concentration in the buffer solution. The results show a linear behavior, with high values (>0.99) for the correlation coefficients, supporting the relationship between the concentration of inflammation-related markers and the electrical current. With the improvement in the device structure to be adapted as a portable reader connected to a smartphone, the proposed method is validated to provide a point-of-care diagnosis of septic shock in the emergency department of hospitals using a small volume of samples.