Ultrasensitive detection of drug resistant cancer cells in biological matrixes using an amperometric nanobiosensor

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a key issue in the failure of cancer chemotherapy and its detection will be helpful to develop suitable therapeutic strategies for cancer patients and overcome the death rates. In this direction, we designed a new amperometric sensor (a medical device prototype) to detect drug resistant cancer cells by sensing “Permeability glycoprotein (P-gp)”. The sensor probe is fabricated by immobilizing monoclonal P-gp antibody on the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) conducting polymer composite. The detection relies on a sandwich-type approach using a bioconjugate, where the aminophenyl boronic acid (APBA) served as a recognition molecule which binds with the cell surface glycans and hydrazine (Hyd) served as an electrocatalyst for the reduction of H2O2 which are attached on multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) (APBA-MWCNT-Hyd). A linear range for the cancer cell detection is obtained between 50 and 100,000 cells/mL with the detection limit of 23±2 cells/mL. The proposed immunosensor is successfully applied to detect MDR cancer cells (MDRCC) in serum and mixed cell samples. Interferences by drug sensitive (SKBr-3 and HeLa), noncancerous cells (HEK-293 and OSE), and other chemical molecules present in the real sample matrix are examined. The sensitivity of the proposed immunosensor is excellent compared with the conventional reporter antibody based assay.