An innovative transportable immune device for the recognition of α-synuclein using KCC-1-nPr-CS2 modified silver nano-ink: integration of pen-on-paper technology with biosensing toward early-stage diagnosis of Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD), the second most frequent neurodegenerative illness, is a neurological ailment that produces unintentional or uncontrolled body movements, which should be diagnosed in its early stages to hinder the progression. Monitoring the concentration of α-synuclein (α-Syn) in body fluids can be one of the most efficient ways for PD early detection. In this work, a paper-based electrochemical immunosensor was designed for α-Syn bio-assay in human plasma samples based on encapsulation of the biotinylated antibody on novel dendritic fibrous nanosilica ((KCC-1-nPr-CS₂)-Ab). For this purpose, a three-electrode system was prepared using stabilization of silver nano-ink on photographic paper. Then, the (KCC-1-NH-CS₂)-Ab was immobilized on its surface and used to detect the target antigen (α-Syn). After characterization of the prepared substrate by FE-SEM and EDS, the redox behavior of the biosensor was evaluated using chronoamperometry techniques. Under optimal experimental conditions and using a label-free strategy, the engineered immunosensor showed a linear relationship between peak current and antigen concentration in the linear range from 0.002 to 128 ng mL⁻¹ with the lower limit of quantification of 0.002 ng mL⁻¹. Moreover, this work involves unprecedented use of conductive nano-inks for the manufacture of α-Syn immunosensor, which is aided by the use of a mesoporous silicate dendrimer in encapsulating the α-Syn antibody, thus offering a robust and simple point-of-care device for early PD diagnosis. The ability of the proposed platform to detect small amounts of α-Syn offers a promising approach to developing low-cost, sensitive, and transportable biosensors for Parkinson's disease screening in its early stages.