Biosensor of inflammation biomarkers based on electrical bioimpedance analysis on immobilized DNA without chemical modification

Abstract

Abstract The development of biosensors to identify molecular markers or specific genes is fundamental for the implementation of new techniques that allow the detection of specific Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences in a fast, economic and simple way. Different detection techniques have been proposed in the development of biosensors. Electrical Bioimpedance Spectroscopy (EBiS) has been used for diagnosis and monitoring of human pathologies, and is recognized as a safe, fast, reusable, easy and inexpensive technique. This study proves the development of a complementary DNA (cDNA) biosensor based on measurements of EBiS and DNA's immobilization with no chemical modifications. The evaluation of its potential utility in the detection of the gene expression of three inflammation characteristic biomarkers (NLRP3, IL-1β and Caspase 1) is presented. The obtained results demonstrate that EBiS can be used to identify different gene expression patterns, measurements that were validated by Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR). These results indicate the technical feasibility for a biosensor of specific genes through bioimpedance measurements on the immobilization of cDNA.