Acoustic Biosensors Coated With Phosphorylcholine Groups for Label-Free Detection of Human C-Reactive Protein in Serum

Abstract

Mass-sensitive biosensor devices based on surface acoustic waves (SAWs) were coated with commercially available 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) polymer for label-free detection of the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) in human serum. Owing to the phosphorylcholine groups, the MPC polymer coating enables both binding of CRP and reduction of nonspecific adsorption of other proteins. Hence, MPC offers a simple and economic method to prepare CRP-specific biosensing layers without the use of additional capture molecules. Direct detection and a binding inhibition assay test format were used, where the latter was applied to minimize effects from the serum sample matrix. MPC polymer coated SAW biosensors could be used with both test formats to differentiate CRP serum concentrations in the normal range (i.e., 10 mg/L and below) from significantly increased serum concentrations which would indicate bacterial infection, tissue injury, and inflammation.Index Terms-Biosensors, C-reactive protein (CRP), medical diagnosis, surface acoustic waves (SAW), surface treatment.

Carbon Nanotube Field-Effect Transistor-Based Chemical and Biological Sensors

“…The CNT with a 1-D nanostructure has shown a strong sensitivity to the surface adsorption of many chemicals and biomolecules. This enables the CNT to be an ideal material for constructing label-free biosensors to detect proteins [ 56 , 57 ], nucleic acids, cells, and viruses [ 58 , 59 , 60 ].…”

Emerging Phospholipid Nanobiomaterials for Biomedical Applications to Lab-on-a-Chip, Drug Delivery, and Cellular Engineering

“…71 By applying surface acoustic waves, mass-sensitive biosensors as inflammatory markers were also prepared with PMC as coating materials with the ability to specifically adsorb CPR, as a potent platform for detection of bacterial infection, tissue injury, and inflammation. 72 Plasma-based membranes are another modern feature of the application of MPC polymers in biomedical applications. For instance, zwitterionic MPC-grafted polymer brushes with the size smaller than 10 nm were used to modify the surface of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) contact lenses presenting exceptional hydrophilicity and antifouling resistance with the aid of an atmospheric plasma-induced polymerization reaction by changing the composition of the plasma (O 2 , N 2 , and Ar).…”

“…Thanks to their excellent properties of, MPC polymers provided an inexpensive and simple way to construct C-reactive protein-specific sensing layers without the need for the additional biomolecules capture. 72 In recent years, Takasu et al designed supersensitive microarrays of the proteins by using the PMB family to brush surfaces via surfaceinitiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) that immobilized proteins. 113 MPC polymers are also utilized for coatings of microchips engineered for the purpose of protein electrophoresis.…”

A Surface Acoustic Wave Sensor with a Microfluidic Channel for Detecting C-Reactive Protein

“…We used a shear horizontal-SAW (SH-SAW) substrate, which is an appropriate substrate material for successful device operation in liquids [32]. SAW biosensors coated with 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine polymers were reported to have been used for the detection of CRP [33]. We will fabricate a microfluidic channel and integrate it with the SAW sensor on a lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ) substrate for detecting CRP.…”