Developing a nano-biosensor for early detection of pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on the development of a simple electrochemical nanobiosensor for early detection of pancreatic cancer. The nanobiosensor uses the newly emerged stable micro ribonucleic acid (miR-21) as a cancer-associated biomarker for diagnosis, prognosis or therapy response. Design/methodology/approach The biosensing practice consists of two main steps: capturing probe immobilization on a working electrode modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes and gold nanoparticles (MWCNTs-AuNPs) and then sensing the miR-21 interaction electrochemically. Two electrochemical techniques, atomic force microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, were applied for characterizations. Findings The nanobiosensor sensitivity exhibited satisfying results to miR-21 and demonstrated a wide dynamic range with a detection limit of just about 3.68 femtomolar using the source measure unit (SMU). Originality/value Researchers commonly use potentiostats to perform the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) measurements for the electrochemical biosensing applications. In this study, the SMU was used to perform the DPV to detect the biomarker miR-21 using the MWCNTs-AuNPs screen-printed electrode as the electrochemical system.