Application of PAMAM dendrimers in electrochemical aptasensor for semi-quantitative determination of heart fatty acid-binding protein

A voltammetric aptasensor for the determination of heart fatty acid-binding protein (hFABP), an early biomarker of acute myocardial infarction, in human blood serum was developed by incorporating an aptamer for hFABP into the surface layer of the aptasensor. The covalent attachment of the aptamer provided better analytical performance than physical immobilization. The optimal analytical conditions were established: pH, Methylene green concentration as a redox probe, and hFABP incubation time. Glassy carbon electrode modified with carbon black and unmodified screen-printed carbon electrodes were used as electrochemical transducers. The electrochemical parameters of different aptasensor variants were compared. The introduction of second generation dendrimers based on thiacalix[4]arenes improved the sensitivity of the aptasensor by lowering the hFABP limit of detection (LOD). The type of dendrimer configuration was found to influence the aptasensor performance. For semi-quantitative determination of hFABP, an aptasensor variant based on disposable printed electrodes modified with the aptamer and a dendrimer containing the macrocyclic core in the 1,3-alternate conformation was proposed. It had a linear range of 15–75 ng/mL with 7.5 ng/mL LOD. The dilution 1 : 2 of the biological samples with buffer reduced the matrix interference, enabling reliable semi-quantitative determination of hFABP at clinically relevant concentrations of 45–60 ng/mL and indicating its potential for rapid detection of acute myocardial infarction.

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