An impedimetric immunosensor based on PAMAM decorated electrospun polystyrene fibers for detection of interleukin-10 cytokine

Cytokine storms are known as the uncontrolled overproduction of inflammatory cytokines that can be pro-duced by a variety of viral or non-infectious disorders and inflict significant damage to many organs. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine, and rapid detection of its levels in serum and saliva is important for many diseases, including severe COVID-19 patients. In this study, Polystyrene (PS) fibers were electrospun over a gold electrode and modified by air plasma to allow their further decoration with polyami-doamine (PAMAM) dendritic polymer for providing many active sites on the fiber surface. The fabricated three-dimensional (3-D) architecture was employed as a platform in an impedimetric immunosensor for the quanti-tative detection of interleukin-10 cytokine (AgIL-10). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), contact angle measurements, fluorescence microscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, and electrochemical methods including cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to characterized the proposed electrospun fiber-based platform and electrochemical immunosensor. The PAMAM properties increased not only the amperometric response to the ferro/ferri cya-nide redox probe, of the modified gold electrode but also the active surface area available for covalently bind-ing of anti-IL-10 capture antibody, resulting in the sensitive detection of AgIL-10 in the concentration range of (1-50 pg/mL) in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 1 pg/mL. The immunosensor's performance in detecting AgIL-10 in artificial saliva (AS) as a complex medium was likewise satisfactory. This immunosensor provides a new opportunity for clinical immunoassays thanks to its great sensitivity, selectivity, and stability.

Automated summary

A study was conducted to develop an impedimetric immunosensor for the detection of interleukin-10 cytokine using electrospun polystyrene fibers and polyamidoamine dendritic polymer on a gold electrode. Experimental results showed that the immunosensor exhibited good sensitivity, selectivity, and stability.