Flexible Label-Free Platinum and Bio-PET-Based Immunosensor for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2

Blasques, Rodrigo Vieira, de Oliveira, Paulo Roberto, Kalinke, Cristiane, Brazaca, Laís Canniatti, Crapnell, Robert D ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8701-3933, Bonacin, Juliano Alves, Banks, Craig E ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0756-9764 and Janegitz, Bruno Campos (2023) Flexible Label-Free Platinum and Bio-PET-Based Immunosensor for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2. Biosensors, 13 (2). 190. ISSN 2079-6374

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Abstract

The demand for new devices that enable the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) at a relatively low cost and that are fast and feasible to be used as point-of-care is required overtime on a large scale. In this sense, the use of sustainable materials, for example, the bio-based poly (ethylene terephthalate) (Bio-PET) can be an alternative to current standard diagnostics. In this work, we present a flexible disposable printed electrode based on a platinum thin film on Bio-PET as a substrate for the development of a sensor and immunosensor for the monitoring of COVID-19 biomarkers, by the detection of L-cysteine and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, respectively. The electrode was applied in conjunction with 3D printing technology to generate a portable and easy-to-analyze device with a low sample volume. For the L-cysteine determination, chronoamperometry was used, which achieved two linear dynamic ranges (LDR) of 3.98−39.0 μmol L−1 and 39.0−145 μmol L−1, and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.70 μmol L−1. The detection of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was achieved by both square wave voltammetry (SWV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) by a label-free immunosensor, using potassium ferro-ferricyanide solution as the electrochemical probe. An LDR of 0.70−7.0 and 1.0−30 pmol L−1, with an LOD of 0.70 and 1.0 pmol L−1 were obtained by SWV and EIS, respectively. As a proof of concept, the immunosensor was successfully applied for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in enriched synthetic saliva samples, which demonstrates the potential of using the proposed sensor as an alternative platform for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in the future.