An Ultra-Rapid Biosensory Point-of-Care (POC) Assay for Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Detection in Human Serum.

Sophie Mavrikou,Spyridon Kintzios,Athanasios Skevis,Georgia Moschopoulou,Athanasios Zafeirakis,Georgios Giannakos,Konstantina Kalogeropoulou

doi:10.3390/s18113834

Sophie Mavrikou, Spyridon Kintzios + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/s18113834

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Abstract

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the established routine screening tool for the detection of early-stage prostate cancer. Given the laboratory-centric nature of the process, the development of a portable, ultra rapid high-throughput system for PSA screening is highly desirable. In this study, an advancedpoint-of-care system for PSA detection in human serum was developed based on a cellular biosensor where the cell membrane was modified by electroinserting a specific antibody against PSA. Thirty nine human serum samples were used for validation of this biosensory system for PSA detection. Samples were analyzed in parallel with a standard immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) and an established electrochemical immunoassay was used for comparison purposes. They were classified in three different PSA concentration ranges (0, <4 and ≥4 ng/mL). Cells membrane-engineered with 0.25 μg/mL anti-PSA antibody demonstrated a statistically lower response against the upper (≥4 ng/mL) PSA concentration range. In addition, the cell-based biosensor performed better than the immunosensor in terms of sensitivity and resolution against positive samples containing <4 ng/mL PSA. In spite of its preliminary, proof-of-concept stage of development, the cell-based biosensor could be used as aninitiative for the development of a fast, low-cost, and high-throughput POC screening system for PSA.

Highlights

Prostate cancer is one of the four most common cancer types [1,2]
Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium (DMEM), L-alanine-glutamine, fetal bovine serum (FBS), penicillin/streptomycin and trypsine/EDTA were purchased from Biochrom Ltd. (Cambridge, UK)
Conforming to the working principle of the combined bioelectric recognition assay (BERA)/membrane engineering approach, interaction of a target analyte with cells engineered with an analyte-specific antibody causes a change in cell membrane potential which is dependent on the concentration of said analyte

Summary

Introduction

Prostate cancer is one of the four most common cancer types (along with lung, breast, and colorectal cancer) [1,2] It is characterized by a higher incidence in older age, obesity and white race males, but is characterized by a low to very low mortality. Detection of the disease at an early stage can lead to very high five-year survival rates (80% or even higher). While digital rectal examination of the prostate gland may fail to detect cancer at an early stage, routine screening in blood for the prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a 28.4 kD serine protease secreted by the epithelial lining of the periurethral glands and the prostatic epithelium, has increased the diagnostic efficiency of prostate cancer from 8% to 18% in less than three decades [3]. Recent studies suggest an increase in the frequency of Sensors 2018, 18, 3834; doi:10.3390/s18113834 www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors

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