Cancer progresses silently to the terminal stage of the
impossible
operable condition. There are many limitations in the treatment options
of cancer, but diagnosis in an early stage can improve survival rates
and low recurrence. Exosomes are the biomolecules released from cancer
cells and are promising candidates for clinical diagnosis. Among them,
the cluster of differentiation 9 (CD9) protein is an important exosomal
biomarker that can be used for exosome determination. Therefore, here,
a CD9 aptamer was first synthesized and applied to an extended-gate
field-effect transistor (EGFET)-type biosensor containing a disposable
sensing membrane to suggest the possibility of detecting exosomes
in a clinical environment. Systematically evaluating ligands using
the exponential enrichment (SELEX) technique was performed to select
nucleic acid sequences that can specifically target the CD9 protein.
Exosomes were detected according to the electrical signal changes
on a membrane, which is an extended gate using an Au microelectrode.
The fabricated biosensor showed a limit of detection (LOD) of 10.64
pM for CD9 proteins, and the detection range was determined from 10
pM to 1 μM in the buffer. In the case of the clinical test,
the LOD and detection ranges of exosomes in human serum samples were
6.41 × 102 exosomes/mL and 1 × 103 to 1 × 107 exosomes/mL, respectively, showing highly
reliable results with low error rates. These findings suggest that
the proposed aptasensor can be a powerful tool for a simple and early
diagnosis of exosomes.
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