Abstract
An overview of cytokine biosensing is provided, with a focus on the opportunities provided by organic electronic platforms for monitoring these inflammation biomarkers which manifest at ultralow concentration levels in physiopathological conditions. Specifically, two of the field's state-of-the-art technologies-organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) and electrolyte gated organic field effect transistors (EGOFETs)-and their use in sensing cytokines and other proteins associated with inflammation are a particular focus. The overview will include an introduction to current clinical and "gold standard" quantification techniques and their limitations in terms of cost, time, and required infrastructure. A critical review of recent progress with OECT- and EGOFET-based protein biosensors is presented, alongside a discussion onthe future of these technologies in the years and decades ahead. This is especially timely as the world grapples with limited healthcare diagnostics during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)pandemic where one of the worst-case scenarios for patients is the "cytokine storm." Clearly, low-cost point-of-care technologies provided by OECTs and EGOFETs can ease the global burden on healthcare systems and support professionals by providing unprecedented wealth of data that can help to monitor disease progression in real time.
Highlights
Complex organisms, from plants to primates, require a well-developed specific protective capacity to counteract noxious stimuli such as pathogen invasion, tissue damage,[1,2] and other kinds of hazard.[3]
We here focus on architectures that could not be labeled as electrolyte gated organic transistors (EGOTs), that we thoroughly review
A recent study used the same strategy to increase the sensitivity of the technique to detect Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), reaching a LOD of 1.62 pg mL−1, and a range of detection spanning 1–1000 pg mL−1, benchmarking their response to the corresponding results obtained by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
Summary
From plants to primates, require a well-developed specific protective capacity to counteract noxious stimuli such as pathogen invasion, tissue damage,[1,2] and other kinds of hazard.[3]. The term “cytokine storm” started to appear more frequently in scientific reports from the early 2000s, especially in relation to viral diseases including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infection.[24] Studies performed in the years following the SARS epidemic (2002), showed the role of cytokines in the pathogenesis—especially in the critical phase of the disease—in which severe symptoms seemed to be associated with a cytokine storm This symptomatology corresponded to lung damage with rupture of pulmonary alveoli causing inefficient oxygenation, and the “acute respiratory distress syndrome,” all as a consequence of the excessive release of cytokines.[25,26] The recent pandemic situation of COVID-19, caused by the coronavirus SARS-Cov-2, has rekindled attention on the important role of cytokines in the evolution of the disease, and highlighted the use of inflammatory cytokines as disease biomarkers. Biosensors with these characteristics will be useful, in this current situation, and in future outbreaks, and are one of the major focuses of the research community
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