Rapid electrochemical-biosensor microchip platform for determination of microalbuminuria in CKD patients

An electrochemical-biosensor (EC-biosensor) microchip consisting of screen-printed electrodes and a double-layer reagent paper detection zone impregnated with amaranth is proposed for the rapid determination of microalbuminuria (MAU) in human urine samples. Under the action of an applied deposition potential, the amaranth is adsorbed on the electrode surface and the subsequent reaction between the modified surface and the MAU content in the urine sample prompts the formation of an inert layer on the electrode surface. The inert layer impedes the transfer of electrons and hence produces a drop in the response peak current, from which the MAU concentration can then be determined. The measurement results obtained for seven artificial urine samples with known MAU concentrations in the range of 0.1-40 mg/dL show that the measured response peak current is related to the MAU concentration with a determination coefficient of R-2 = 0.991 in the low concentration range of 0.1-10 mg/dL and R-2 = 0.996 in the high concentration range of 10-40 mg/dL. Furthermore, the detection results obtained for 82 actual chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients show an excellent agreement (R-2 = 0.988) with the hospital analysis results. Overall, the results confirm that the proposed detection platform provides a convenient and reliable approach for performing sensitive point-of-care testing (POCT) of the MAU content in human urine samples. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

An electrochemical-biosensor microchip with screen-printed electrodes and a double-layer reagent paper detection zone impregnated with amaranth was proposed for rapid determination of microalbuminuria in human urine samples. The results showed a high correlation between the measured response peak current and MAU concentration, with excellent agreement with hospital analysis results for chronic kidney disease patients. Overall, the proposed detection platform provides a convenient and reliable approach for sensitive point-of-care testing of MAU content in human urine samples.