Strongyloidiasis Serological Analysis with Three Different Biological Probes and Their Electrochemical Responses in a Screen-Printed Gold Electrode

Abstract

(1) Background: The validation of biological antigens is the study’s utmost goal in biomedical applications. We evaluated three different probes with single and multiple epitopes through electrochemical detection of specific IgG in serum for human strongyloidiasis diagnosis. (2) Methods: Screen-printed gold electrodes were used and probes consisting of two single-epitope synthetic peptides (D3 and C10) with different sequences, and a multi-epitope antigen [detergent phase (DP)—hydrophobic membrane proteins]. Human serum samples from three populations were used: Strongyloides stercoralis positive, positive for other parasitic infections and negative controls. To test the immobilization of probes onto a screen-printed gold electrode and the serum IgG detection, electrochemical analyses were carried out through differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and the electrode surface analyses were recorded using atomic force microscopy. (3) Results: The electrochemical response in screen-printed gold electrodes of peptides D3 and C10 when using positive serum was significantly higher than that when using the DP. Our sensor improved sensitivity to detect strongyloidiasis. (4) Conclusions: Probes’ sequences are critical factors for differential electrochemical responses, and the D3 peptide presented the best electrochemical performance for strongyloidiasis detection, and may efficiently substitute whole antigen extracts from parasites for strongyloidiasis diagnosis in electrochemical immunosensors.