Herein, a conjugated conducting polymer-based impedimetric aptasensor has been developed to detect beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (bHCG), the one of the important biomarkers in gynecology, from synthetic human urine samples. In this context, gold electrodes were, firstly coated with pyrrole and pyrrole-3-carboxylic acid to obtain the poly(pyrrole-pyrrole-3-carboxylic acid) [poly(Py-PyCOOH)] conductive copolymer by cyclic voltammetry (CV). Then, bHCG-specific peptide aptamer was covalently linked onto the surface via applying a well-known carbodiimide-succinimide chemistry. The sensor developed was characterized to confirm modification steps via both electrochemical methods including CV, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and chronoamperometry and physico-chemically via attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), atomic force microscope (AFM), and contact angle measurements (CA). The analytical performance of the sensor was evaluated in the concentration range from 1 μg/mL to 100 μg/mL for successful detection of bHCG even in the presence of interference agents. The results have also revealed that the sensor could be classified as a promising alternative to its benchmark commercial clinical methods due its superior properties such as cost-friendliness, easy-to-prepare, stable, robust, and selectivity / sensitivity.
Keywords: Aptasensor; Human chorionic gonadotropin; Impedimetric detection; Polypyrrole; Urine.
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