Functionalized Carbon Nanotube-Decorated MXene Nanosheet-Enabled Microfluidic Electrochemical Aptasensor for Carcinoembryonic Antigen Determination
Peng Zhao, Jilin Zheng, Yi Liang, Fengchun Tian, Lan Peng, Danqun Huo, Changjun Hou
Abstract
Fabrication of a portable sensing platform for cancer biomarkers has important implications for disease diagnosis. Herein, an integrated microfluidic electrochemical platform was fabricated for sensitive detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The integrated sensing platform mainly consists of two functional parts: a herringbone-embedded microfluidic chip and an electrochemical aptasensor. The electrochemical aptasensor is constructed based on a novel MXene composite nanomaterial assembled from MXene nanosheets and functionalized carbon nanotubes, which enables superior signal amplification. The herringbone-embedded chip above the aptasensor is introduced to generate local mixed flow and enhance the interaction between target molecules and the sensing interface, which is then demonstrated through numerical analysis. Based on these designs, the whole process of sample injection, efficient enrichment, specific capture, and sensitive detection can all be achieved on one integrated platform, allowing for user-friendly tests. This sensing platform shows satisfactory performance for CEA determination, and the limit of detection (LOD) is 2.88 pg/mL in a wide dynamic range of 10–1 ×106 pg/mL. In addition, it can be applied for precise determination of CEA in serum, showing desirable application prospects in disease diagnosis.