Design and Production of DNA-Based Electrochemical and Biological Biosensors for the Detection and Measurement of Gabapentin Medication in Clinical Specimens

Abstract

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) is the clinical practice of measuring specific drugs at designated intervals to maintain a constant concentration in a patient’s bloodstream, thereby optimizing individual dosage regimens. Hence, the extant study was conducted to design and produce an electrochemical and biological biosensor to detect and measure Gabapentin medication. The present study was a laboratory-applied intervention, which used a pencil graphite electrode modified with α-Fe2O3 and MOS2 nanostructures in one step and DNA in the second address layer, by using Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV) electrochemical sensing techniques to detect Gabapentin medication in clinical specimens such as serum, plasma, and urine. The functional mechanism of the biosensor is designed in such a way that the effect of interaction between drug and DNA leads to drug detection, and with increasing concentration of Gabapentin analyte, the amount of visible current by DNA is reduced. Significantly, this reduction in current after reaction with Gabapentin can be demonstrated using the Differential Pulse Voltammogram (DPV) curve. The designed biosensor provided some features, including inexpensiveness, simple and fast sensor biodegradation process, appropriate stability of sensor, low Limit of Detection (LOD), extensive linearity range, ease of application without requiring laboratory technician, and selectivity of biosensor materials. Electrochemical and biological biosensors have some advantages rather than the common analytical methods; hence, these biosensors can be used widely in the future. High selectivity, low cost of production and low energy consumption, accuracy and precision, short response time, adaptability, simple preparedness, minimization capability, high-speed data collecting, low LOD, minor operational volume, and robust measurement. On the other hand, biosensors have received great attention over recent years due to their continuous application, the high selectivity of biological compounds, such as enzymes and antibodies, and the ability to measure nonpolar compounds.