Development of paper-based aptasensor for circulating tumor cells detection in the breast cancer

Abstract

• A reliable diagnostic test presents based on the paper based system. • The three electrode system constructed on paper as platform. • The system shows sensitive behavior for MCF-7 cell in serum samples. Rapid diagnosis of circulating tumor cells (CTC) is of great importance towards patients’ treatment. In this work, a simple paper-based sensing platform for label-free detection of circulating tumor cells in the breast cancer cells (MCF-7) is reported. This paper-based aptasensor (P-apt) consists of three-electrode system which constructed based on the manual screen-printed process through a patterned sticker on the paper. To manufacture the MCF-7 sensor, the working electrode of P-apt was functionalized with aptamers that are selective to mucin 1 proteins on the surface of MCF-7 cells. The performance of the prepared P-apt was investigated with cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The linear range was between 20 and 1×10 6 cell mL −1 , and the detection limit was 7 cell mL −1 . Furthermore, the P-apt was able to detect MCF-7 cells in serum samples. The prepared P-apt with simple manufacturing process can potentially be developed to detect various circulating tumor cells. In conclusion, presented P-apt as a low-cost, rapid and robust sensor can be use to detect breast cancer metastases and follow up of metastases treatment.