Electrochemical Immunosensor for TNFα-Mediated Inflammatory Disease Screening

Abstract

Inflammation associated with cancer, neurodegenerative, ocular, and autoimmune diseases has a considerable impact on public health. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) is a key mediator of inflammatory responses, responsible for many of the systemic manifestations during the inflammatory process. Thus, inhibition of TNFα is a commonplace practice in the treatment of these disorders. Successful therapy requires the ability to determine the appropriate dose of anti-TNFα drugs to be administered in a timely manner, based on circulating TNFα levels. In this Letter, we report the development of an immunosensor technology able to quantify TNFα at the picogram level in relevant human body fluids, holding the potential to early detect inflammation and monitor TNFα levels during treatment, enabling TNFα-targeted treatments to be tailored according to the immune status of an individual patient. This immunosensor technology is significantly more rapid and sensitive than conventional enzyme linked immunosorbent assays, maintaining high specificity and requiring small sample volumes. These features might also be advantageous in the context of personalized medicine, as this analytical platform can deliver advanced diagnostics and reduce clinical burden.

Cytokines: From Clinical Significance to Quantification

“…Many electrochemical biosensors have been developed for the detection of cytokines. [ 147–150 ] Filik et al. [ 151 ] summarized the recent developments of numerous electrochemical assays for the measurement of TNF‐ α , illustrating various novel sensing strategies for immunoelectrochemical sensor improvement to selectively detect cytokines.…”

State of the Art and Future Challenges in Multiple Sclerosis Research and Medical Management: An Insight into the 5th International Porto Congress of Multiple Sclerosis

“…Sensitivity depends on the biomarker(s) being detected, but is generally higher than that obtained with conventional tests (e.g. those for the detection of tumour necrosis factor α is around 40-fold more sensitive than the ELISA-based assays) [ 123 ]. Moreover, this biosensor can be integrated into a reader and connected to a computer or to a smartphone, from which the results can be directly read.…”

Timely and Blood-Based Multiplex Molecular Profiling of Acute Stroke

“…This has kindled interest in the use of multiple molecular features in the form of proteins, RNA, metabolites, lipids, and others for improved stroke diagnostics sensitivity and specificity [ 17 ]. In this context, new miniaturized biosensing POC prototypes are under development for fast multiplex monitoring of different biochemical and genetic pathways potentially associated with stroke (e.g., MMP9, TNF-α, IL6, S100B, GFAP, microRNA) in minimally invasive blood samples [ 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 ] (see Table 6 ). Despite recent technological advances, only a few innovative analytical platforms are capable of multi-biomarker panel profiling towards the potential development of tailored POCT stroke devices.…”