Aptamer-based portable biosensor for platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) with personal glucose meter readout

• A portable chemical sensor for PDGF-BB was proposed.
• The sensor combines the advantages of personal glucose meters and aptamer.
• The detection limit is 2.9 fM and the linear range is 1.0×10–14 M–3.16×10–12 M.
• The sensor has been successfully applied to detect PDGF-BB in saliva samples.

A novel portable biosensor for sensitive and selective detection of platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) had been developed based on the specific recognition between aptamer and protein using a personal glucose meter (PGM) as readout. In the presence of PDGF-BB, the primary aptamer of PDGF-BB which is bound to the surface of streptavidin magnespheres paramagnetic particles (SA-PMPs) reacts quantitatively with invertase-functionalized secondary aptamer of PDGF-BB to form a stable complex, resulting in the attachment of invertase on the SA-PMPs. Subsequently, the invertase catalyzes the hydrolysis of sucrose to produce a large amount of glucose and quantitative readout by the PGM. The enhanced signal of the PGM has a relationship with the concentration of PDGF-BB in the range of 1.0×10–14 M~3.16×10−12 M, and the detection limit is 2.9 fM. The proposed portable biosensor had been successfully applied to assay the PDGF-BB in saliva samples.