Advanced sensing materials based on molecularly imprinted polymers towards developing point-of-care diagnostics devices

Abstract

Today there is growing interest in the replacement of biological receptors in biosensing systems including point-of-care (PoC) diagnostics devices due to their high price and short shelf life. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), which are wholly synthetic materials with antibody-like ability to bind and discriminate between molecules, demonstrate improved stability and reduced fabrication cost as compared with biological receptors. Here we report, for the first time, a MIP-based synthetic receptor capable of selective binding of a clinically relevant protein – the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The BDNF-MIP was generated by surface-initiated controlled/living radical photopolymerization directly on a screen-printed electrode (SPE). The resulting BDNF-MIP/SPE electrochemical sensor could detect BDNF down to 6 pg/mL in the presence of the interfering HSA protein and was capable of discriminating BDNF among its structural analogues, i.e. neurotropic factors CDNF and MANF. We believe that the presented approach for the preparation of a neurotrophic factor-selective sensor could be a promising route towards the development of innovative PoC diagnostics devices for the early-stage diagnostics and/or monitoring the therapy of neurological diseases.