Electrochemical detection of myeloperoxidase (MPO) in blood plasma with surface-modified electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG) printed circuit board (PCB) electrodes

Printed circuit board (PCB) based biosensors have often utilized hard gold electroplating, that nullifies the cost advantages of this technology as compared to screen printed electrodes. Electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG) is a popular gold deposition process widely used in PCB manufacturing, but vulnerable to pinhole defects and large surface roughness, which compromises biosensor performance. In this work, we present a method to address these challenges through electrodeposition of methylene blue (MB) to cover surface defects and improve electroactivity of ENIG PCB electrodes. We also demonstrate a process to realize in situ synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using acid-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as scaffold, that are used to immobilize antibody for the target molecule (myeloperoxidase: MPO, early warning biomarker for cardiovascular diseases) through a modified cysteamine/gluteraldehyde based process. The processing steps on the electrode surface are developed in a manner that do not compromise the integrity of the electrode, resulting in repeatable and reliable performance of the sensors. Further, we demonstrate a cost-effective microfluidic packaging process to integrate a capillary pump driven microfluidic channel on the PCB electrode for seamless introduction of samples for testing. We demonstrate the ability of the sensor to distinguish clinically abnormal concentrations of MPO from normal concentrations through extensive characterization using spiked serum and blood plasma samples, with a limit of detection of 0.202 ng / mL.