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Flexible molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor for cortisol monitoring in sweat

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Abstract

A selective cortisol sensor based on molecularly imprinted poly(glycidylmethacrylate-co ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) (poly(GMA-co-EGDMA)) has been demonstrated for detection of cortisol in human sweat. The non-enzymatic biomimetric flexible sweat sensor was fabricated inexpensively by layer by layer (LbL) assembly. The sensor layers comprised a stretchable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) base with carbon nanotubes-cellulose nanocrystals (CNC/CNT) conductive nanoporous nanofilms. The imprinted (MIP) poly(GMA-co-EGDMA) deposited on the CNC/CNT was the cortisol biomimetric receptor. Rapid in analyte response (3 min), the cortisol MIP sensor demonstrated excellent performance. The sensor has a limit of detection (LOD) of 2.0 ng/mL ± 0.4 ng/mL, dynamic range of 10–66 ng/mL, and a sensor reproducibility of 2.6% relative standard deviation (RSD). The MIP sensor also had high cortisol specificity and was inherently blind to selected interfering species including glucose, epinephrine, β-estradiol, and methoxyprogestrone. The MIP was four orders of magnitude more sensitive than its non-imprinted (NIP) counterpart. The MIP sensor remains stable over time, responding proportionately to doses of cortisol in human sweat.

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Acknowledgments

Mugo research group acknowledges funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Canada Summer Jobs Program and MacEwan University. We also acknowledge the assistance of Lisa Mugo (St. Mary’s Elementary, Edmonton) in designing the graphical abstract.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Sciences Department, MacEwan University, 10700-104 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T5J 4S2, Canada

    Samuel M. Mugo & Jonathan Alberkant

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  1. Samuel M. Mugo
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  2. Jonathan Alberkant
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Correspondence to Samuel M. Mugo.

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Informed consent was obtained from the student volunteer participant included in the study. The study was approved by the MacEwan Research Ethics Board (REB) to ascertain the study was performed in accordance with acceptable ethical standards.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Mugo, S.M., Alberkant, J. Flexible molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor for cortisol monitoring in sweat. Anal Bioanal Chem 412, 1825–1833 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-02430-0

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