Enzyme-based microfluidic chip coupled to graphene electrodes for the detection of D-amino acid enantiomer-biomarkers

Abstract

An electrochemical microfluidic strategy for the separation and enantiomeric detection of d-methionine (d-Met) and d-leucine (d-Leu) is presented. These D-amino acids (D-AAs) act as biomarkers involved in relevant diseases caused by Vibrio cholerae. On a single layout microfluidic chip (MC), highly compatible with extremely low biological sample consumption, the strategy allowed the controlled microfluidic D-AA separation and the specific reaction between D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) and each D-AA biomarker avoiding the use of additives (i.e., cyclodextrins) for enantiomeric separation as well as any covalent immobilization of the enzyme into the wall channels or on the electrode surface such as in the biosensor-based approaches. Hybrid polymer/graphene-based electrodes were end-channel coupled to the microfluidic system to improve the analytical performance. d-Met and d-Leu were successfully detected becoming this proof-of-the-concept a promising principle for the development of point-of-care (POC) devices for in situ screening of V. cholerae related diseases.