A highly selective and stable cationic polyelectrolyte encapsulated black phosphorene based impedimetric immunosensor for Interleukin-6 biomarker detection

Due to the insufficiency of binding sites for the immobilized recognition biomolecules on the immunosensing platform, cancer detection becomes challenging. Whereas, the degradation of black phosphorene (BP) in the presence of the environmental factors becomes a concerning issue for use in electrochemical sensing. In this study, BP is successfully encapsulated by polyallylamine (PAMI) to increase its stability as well as to enhance its electrochemical performance. The successful encapsulation of BP is ensured through X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, whereas the stability of black phosphorus is ensured by Zeta potential measurements and cyclic voltammetry tests. The developed BP-PAMI composite showed high stability in the ambient environment and exhibited improved electrochemical performances. The impedimetric immunosensor was developed on a BP-PAMI modified laser burned graphene (LBG) to detect interleukin-6 biomarkers using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Under the optimized parameters, the fabricated immunosensor demonstrated a wide linear range of 0.003-75 ng/mL, limit of detection (LOD) of 1 pg/mL. Based on the experimental analysis, the developed sensing strategy can be employed as an easy, disposable, cost-effective and highly selective point-of-care cancer detection. In addition, the developed technique can be applied broadly for detecting other biomarkers after treating with suitable biomolecules.

Automated summary

In this study, black phosphorene (BP) was successfully encapsulated by polyallylamine (PAMI) to enhance its stability and electrochemical performance, leading to the development of a BP-PAMI composite for electrochemical sensing. Additionally, an impedimetric immunosensor for cancer detection was fabricated using BP-PAMI modified laser burned graphene (LBG), demonstrating high stability and improved electrochemical performances. This developed technique shows potential for easy, disposable, cost-effective, and highly selective point-of-care cancer detection.