Correlation of EBiS vs. Concentration and Purity of Total DNA in Breast Cancer Samples

Abstract Breast cancer (BC) is one of the leading causes of death in women worldwide. Modern molecular medicine includes techniques like deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) microarray and polymerase chain reaction (PCR); however, these techniques require specialized and expensive equipment to determine DNA concentration and purity. In breast cancer (BC), tumor growth promotes rapid cell replication, leading to errors and instability in DNA molecules. As a result, total DNA may exhibit differential degradation and changes in its electrical properties. DNA molecules possess an electronegative charge and implicit viscosity, so the number of double-helix structures and their electrical and physical properties are expected to alter volumetric bioimpedance based on DNA concentration and purity. In this study, a biosensor of BC DNA concentration and purity based on Electrical Bioimpedance Spectroscopy (EBiS) is proposed. Twenty DNA samples extracted from BC biopsies were quantified in concentration and purity by UV-Vis spectrophotometry and then evaluated through EBiS measurements from 100 Hz to 10 MHz Spearman correlation coefficients for EBiS measurements in the entire frequency range with respect to DNA concentration and purity were estimated through SPSS statistics software (Ver 21.0). The findings show impedance magnitude Z with a significant statistical correlation to DNA concentration and purity at 9.12 and 5.75 MHz, respectively (R 9.12 MHz = 0.936, R 5.75 MHz = 0.56, p < 0.05). The findings indicate the use of a biosensor based on EBiS measurement is a feasible technique to estimate BC DNA concentrations and purity.