Dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate) modified gold microarray electrode based electrochemical immunosensor for ultrasensitive detection of cortisol

Gold microelectrode arrays functionalized with dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate) self-assembled monolayer (SAM) have been used to fabricate an ultrasensitive, disposable, electrochemical cortisol immunosensor. Cortisol specific monoclonal antibody (C-Mab) was covalently immobilized on the surface of gold microelectrode array and the sensors were exposed to solutions with different cortisol concentration. After C-Mab binding, unreacted active groups of DTSP were blocked using ethanol amine (EA) and label-free electrochemical impedance (EIS) technique was used to determine cortisol concentration. EIS results confirmed that EA/C-Mab/DTSP/Au based biosensor can accurately detect cortisol in the range of 1 pM–100 nM. The biosensor was successfully used for the measurement of cortisol in interstitial fluid in vitro. This research establishes the feasibility of using impedance based biosensor architecture for disposable, wearable cortisol detector.