Electrochemical Based C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Sensing Through Molecularly Imprinted Polymer (MIP) Pore Structure Coupled with Bi-Metallic Tuned Screen-Printed Electrode

Neonatal sepsis is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition and a major cause of higher mortality and morbidity in the infant population. At present, the available for neonatal sepsis detection is conventional microbial testing. However, this method has various constraints, including being expensive, requiring qualified individuals, large sample volume needed for testing, and time-consuming process. The emergence of biosensors facilitates advantages over these constraints. The presented work describes the development of an electrochemical biosensor detecting C-reactive protein, a biomarker for neonatal sepsis, utilizing molecularly imprinted polymer fabricated on an electrode surface. Gold-platinum bimetallic nanomaterials were coated on the screen-printed carbon electrode to enhance the sensor's surface area and catalytic property. The C-reactive protein imprinted polymer was then deposited on the surface of the electrode. Further, the electrochemical technique was applied to measure the response of the developed electrode. It was observed that the sensing matrix was able to detect C-reactive protein and can be operated in a wide detection range and exhibits a lower detection limit as 0.1 nM with higher sensitivity (0.14 μA/nM). The developed sensing platform can provide a user-friendly approach and rapid detection results.