An electrospun polyaniline nanofiber as a novel platform for real-time COX-2 biomarker detection

Abstract

The presence of Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) biomarker has been associated with the development of certain types of cancer such as breast cancer. Moreover, reliable quantification of COX-2 as an enzyme responsible for pain and inflammation is vital. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of sensitive COX-2 detection via integration of nanoporous polyaniline fibers on the microfabricated platform to develop a label-free biosensor. Highly porous polyaniline nanofibers were fabricated in different diameters and integrated on the interdigitated microelectrodes to develop electrochemical platforms. Characterization results revealed that the smaller diameter improved the sensitivity of the biosensor due to enhancement in the specific surface area. The developed biosensor was able to detect analyte as low as 0.1 pg/mL with a large dynamic linear range of 10 fg/mL to 1 mu g/mL. The fabricated sensor showed remarkable sensitivity towards COX-2 antigen suggesting the significant contribution of this nanofiber based platform to the enhanced sensitivity in COX-2 analyte detection.