Ultrasensitive Detection of Human Liver Hepatocellular
Carcinoma Cells Using a Label-Free Aptasensor
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Abstract
Liver cancer is one of the most common
cancers in the world and
has no effective cure, especially in later stages. The development
of a tangible protocol for early diagnosis of this disease remains
a major challenge. In the present manuscript, an aptamer-based, label-free
electrochemical biosensor for the sensitive detection of HepG2, a
hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, is described. The target cells
are captured in a sandwich architecture using TLS11a aptamer covalently
attached to a gold surface and a secondary TLS11a aptamer. The application
of TLS11a aptamer as a recognition layer resulted in a sensor with
high affinity for HepG2 cancer cells in comparison with control cancer
cells of human prostate, breast, and colon tumors. The aptasensor
delivered a wide linear dynamic range over 1 × 10<sup>2</sup> to 1 × 10<sup>6</sup> cells/mL, with a detection limit of 2
cells/mL. This protocol provides a precise method for sensitive detection
of liver cancer with significant advantages in terms of simplicity,
low cost, and stability