Molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor for advanced diagnosis of alpha-fetoprotein

Abstract

In this study, a low-cost and easily prepared cancer biomarker sensor-alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) biosensor was successfully constructed on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) by a surface imprinting procedure using available and cheap agents instead of antibodies. Under optimal detection conditions, the proposed biosensor showed specific recognition ability to free AFP by comparing with other comparative proteins and exhibited a wide linear detection range from 8.0 × 10⁻⁴ to 10 μg mL⁻¹ for AFP with a low detection limit of 9.6 × 10⁻⁵ μg mL⁻¹ (S/N = 3). Ultimately, the AFP imprinted sensor was applied to the determination of AFP in a human serum sample, giving satisfactory results.