Work

Label-free electrochemical aptasensing of cardiac cell secretomes in cell culture media for the evaluation of drug-induced myocardial injury

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Cardiac troponin I (cTnI), a widely used biomarker for assessing cardiovascular risk, can provide a window for the evaluation of drug-induced myocardial injury. Label-free biosensors are promising candidates for detecting cell secretomes, since they do not require labor-intensive processes. In this work, a label-free electrochemical aptasensor is developed for in situ monitoring of cardiac cell secretomes in cell culture media based on target-induced strand displacement. The aptasensing system contains an aptamer-functionalized signal nanoprobe facing trimetallic metal-organic framework nanosheets and a gold nanoparticle-based detection working electrode modified with DNA nanotetrahedron-based complementary DNA for indirect target detection. The signal nanoprobes (termed CAHA) consisted of copper-based metal-organic frameworks, AuPt nanoparticles, horseradish peroxidase, and an aptamer. When the aptasensor is exposed to cardiac cell secretomes, cTnI competitively binds to the aptamer, resulting in the release of signal nanoprobes from the biorecognition interface and electrochemical signal changes. The aptasensor exhibited rapid response times, a low detection limit of 0.31 pg/mL, and a wide linear range of 0.001–100 ng/mL. We successfully used this aptasensor to measure cTnI concentrations among secreted cardiac markers during antitumor drug treatment. In general, aptasensors can be used to monitor a variety of cardiac biomarkers in the evaluation of cardiotoxicity. • A label-free electrochemical aptasensor was proposed for analysis of cTnI from cells. • The assembled nanoprobe (Cu-MOF@AuPt@HRP) can co-catalyze the HQ-H 2 O 2 system. • NiCoCu MOFs@AuNPs and NTH were used as electrode substrate to improve sensitivity. • The aptasensor showed high selectivity and sensitivity with detection limit of 0.31 pg mL −1 . • The sensor provides a cost-effective way for cardiotoxicity evaluation of antitumor drugs.

Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpha.2025.101234