Portable Amperometric Biosensor Enhanced with Enzyme-Ternary Nanocomposites for Prostate Cancer Biomarker Detection.

Abstract

Enzyme-based portable amperometric biosensors are precise and low-cost medical devices used for rapid cancer biomarker screening. Sarcosine (Sar) is an ideal biomarker for prostate cancer (PCa). Because human serum and urine contain complex interfering substances that can directly oxidize at the electrode surface, rapid Sar screening biosensors are relatively challenging and have rarely been reported. Therefore, highly sensitive and selective amperometric biosensors that enable real-time measurements within <1.0 min are needed. To achieve this, a chitosan-polyaniline polymer nanocomposite (CS-PANI NC), a carrier for dispersing mesoporous carbon (MC), was synthesized and modified on a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) to detect hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). The sarcosine oxidase (SOx) enzyme-immobilized CS-PANI-MC-2 ternary NCs were referred to as supramolecular architectures (SMAs). The excellent electron transfer ability of the SMA-modified SPCE (SMA/SPCE) sensor enabled highly sensitive H₂O₂ detection for immediate trace Sar biomarker detection. Therefore, the system included an SMA/SPCE coupled to a portable potentiostat linked to a smartphone for data acquisition. The high catalytic activity, porous architecture, and sufficient biocompatibility of CS-PANI-MC ternary NCs enabled bioactivity retention and immobilized SOx stability. The fabricated biosensor exhibited a detection limit of 0.077 μM and sensitivity of 8.09 μA mM^-1 cm^-2 toward Sar, demonstrating great potential for use in rapid PCa screening.