Development of an electrochemical aptasensor for the detection of human osteopontin

Abstract

Electrochemical aptasensors, an emerging technology, enables the detection of protein biomarkers, which may be indicative of tumour activity. Osteopontin is a protein present in body fluids, being a possible biomarker since its overexpression has been related with breast cancer progression. An \RNA\ aptamer, described in the literature, with affinity for human osteopontin, was synthetized, immobilized in a microelectrode gold surface and used for development electrochemical aptasensor for human \OPN\ detection in standard solutions. Cyclic voltammetry results showed that this aptasensor allowed detecting human osteopontin with a detection limit of 8 nM, showing a satisfactory selectivity towards the target in the presence of others proteins, except for thrombin.