Immunosensor for Pancreatic Cancer Based on Electrospun Nanofibers Coated with Carbon Nanotubes or Gold Nanoparticles

We report the fabrication of immunosensors based on nanostructured mats of electrospun nanofibers of polyamide 6 and poly(allylamine hydrochloride) coated either with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) or gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), whose three-dimensional structure was suitable for the immobilization of anti-CA19-9 antibodies to detect the pancreatic cancer biomarker CA19-9. Using impedance spectroscopy, the sensing platform was able to detect CA19-9 with a detection limit of 1.84 and 1.57 U mL(-1) for the nanostructured architectures containing MWCNTs and AuNPs, respectively. The high sensitivity achieved can be attributed to the irreversible adsorption between antibodies and antigens, as confirmed with polarization-modulated infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy. The adsorption mechanism was typical Langmuir-Freundlich processes. The high sensitivity and selectivity of the immunosensors were also explored in tests with blood serum from patients with distinct concentrations of CA19-9, for which the impedance spectra data were processed with a multidimensional projection technique. The robustness of the immunosensors in dealing with patient samples without suffering interference from analytes present in biological fluids is promising for a simple, effective diagnosis of pancreatic cancer at early stages.