Nanomaterial-Based Label-Free Electrochemical Aptasensors for the Detection of Thrombin

Abstract

Thrombin plays a central role in hemostasis and its imbalances in coagulation can lead to various pathologies. It is of clinical significance to develop a fast and accurate method for the quantitative detection of thrombin. Electrochemical aptasensors have the capability of combining the specific selectivity from aptamers with the extraordinary sensitivity from electrochemical techniques and thus have attracted considerable attention for the trace-level detection of thrombin. Nanomaterials and nanostructures can further enhance the performance of thrombin aptasensors to achieve high sensitivity, selectivity, and antifouling functions. In highlighting these material merits and their impacts on sensor performance, this paper reviews the most recent advances in label-free electrochemical aptasensors for thrombin detection, with an emphasis on nanomaterials and nanostructures utilized in sensor design and fabrication. The performance, advantages, and limitations of those aptasensors are summarized and compared according to their material structures and compositions.

Predicting Analyte Concentrations from Electrochemical Aptasensor Signals Using LSTM Recurrent Networks

“…Moreover, the advancement in nanostructured materials has attracted much attention in recent years due to their potential applications and unique properties, including high reactivity, high functionalization, large surface-area-to-volume ratio, and small size [ 5 ]. Thus, advanced nanostructured materials have been utilized to improve the sensing capacities of aptasensors [ 6 ], lower the limits of detection of analytes [ 7 ], and amplify the sensors’ signals [ 8 ]. Nanomaterial-based aptasensors have been used as effective instruments for recognizing small analytes in clinical health diagnostics [ 6 , 7 ], medical therapy [ 9 ], and disease biomarker detection [ 10 ].…”

“…Thus, advanced nanostructured materials have been utilized to improve the sensing capacities of aptasensors [ 6 ], lower the limits of detection of analytes [ 7 ], and amplify the sensors’ signals [ 8 ]. Nanomaterial-based aptasensors have been used as effective instruments for recognizing small analytes in clinical health diagnostics [ 6 , 7 ], medical therapy [ 9 ], and disease biomarker detection [ 10 ]. In addition, using and improving these analytical devices for identifying and quantifying a target analyte is beneficial due to their having higher specificity and selectivity and their elimination of labor-intensive and time-consuming procedures, expensive instruments, and multiple analytical steps [ 11 ].…”

Recent Progresses in Development of Biosensors for Thrombin Detection

“…There have been significant advancements in clinical diagnosis, food quality regulation, and environmental monitoring [ 37 ]. Electrochemical techniques are favorable because of their great sensitivity, quick response, tiny sample consumption, and low cost [ 38 ]. Electrochemical biosensors are electrode-dependent sensors that measure the output of interactions of biomolecules with their targets on an electrode surface [ 39 ].…”

“…In addition, with regard to the presence of thrombin at nM quantities in the blood, there is a requirement for very sensitive biosensors for efficient detection. The utilization of nanoparticles and nanostructures can theoretically overcome these concerns and problems [ 38 ]. This review divides electrochemical TB biosensors into subsets of voltammetry, amperometry, and impedimetric ones.…”

An electrochemical membrane-based aptasensor for detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 receptor-binding domain

“…Nowadays, nanomaterials have been used to increase the analytical performance of electrochemical sensors [33] , [34] . Among them, the nanoporous anodic aluminium oxide (NPAOM) has drawn tremendous interest in developing electrochemical biosensors due to its three-dimensional (3D) structure, high surface area, low-cost, easy fabrication, biocompatibility, and high mechanical stability [35] , [36] , [37] .…”