Truncated PNA-functionalized porous silicon biosensor for low-cost and early detection of troponin T in myocardial infarction

A label-free optical biosensor based on porous silicon (PSi) was developed for the high-sensitivity detection of human cardiac troponin T (cTnT), a key biomarker for the early diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI). To reduce synthesis costs while maintaining binding efficiency, a truncated peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe was designed in silico starting from a 40-base-long wild-type sequence. Computational screening identified a 12-base candidate, whose binding affinity was experimentally validated by Western blot analysis. The freshly etched PSi surface was passivated and functionalized via mild thermal hydrosilylation with 10-undecenoic acid to introduce carboxylic groups, enabling covalent PNA immobilization through the carbodiimide chemistry. Surface functionalization and stability in aqueous media were validated using both label-free optical reflectance and fluorescence spectroscopy. Probe conjugation was optimized at pH 5.5, resulting in a surface density of 1.12 ± 0.30 pmol cm<sup>-2</sup>. The biosensor exhibited reproducible, concentration-dependent responses to cTnT in the 0.02-0.16 ng mL<sup>-1</sup> range, with a limit of detection of 0.030 ± 2.0 × 1 0 <sup>-5</sup> ng mL<sup>-1</sup>. This performance is clinically relevant, as cTnT levels in healthy individuals are typically <0.01 ng mL<sup>-1</sup>, while MI patients often exceed 10 ng mL<sup>-1</sup>, reaching >100 ng mL<sup>-1</sup> in severe cases.

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Publication Details

Journal
Talanta
Published
2025-11-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2025.129054
Primary Topic
Silicon Nanostructures and Photoluminescence
Type
article
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article

Truncated PNA-functionalized porous silicon biosensor for low-cost and early detection of troponin T in myocardial infarction

Elise E. Dumont, Vincenzo Abbate, Giovanni Dell’Aversana Orabona, Sabrina Giordano et al.
Talanta
Silicon Nanostructures and Photoluminescence
article

Truncated PNA-functionalized porous silicon biosensor for low-cost and early detection of troponin T in myocardial infarction

Elise E. Dumont, Vincenzo Abbate, Giovanni Dell’Aversana Orabona, Sabrina Giordano, Alessio Bartocci, Carminia Maria Della Corte, Valeria Nocerino, Giorgia Oliviero, Nicola Borbone, Monica Terracciano, Ilaria Rea, Gennaro Piccialli, Marco Fabio Costantino, Andrea Patrizia Falanga, Luca De Stefano, Caterina De Rosa, Maria Grazia Nolli
article en

Abstract

A label-free optical biosensor based on porous silicon (PSi) was developed for the high-sensitivity detection of human cardiac troponin T (cTnT), a key biomarker for the early diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI). To reduce synthesis costs while maintaining binding efficiency, a truncated peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe was designed in silico starting from a 40-base-long wild-type sequence. Computational screening identified a 12-base candidate, whose binding affinity was experimentally validated by Western blot analysis. The freshly etched PSi surface was passivated and functionalized via mild thermal hydrosilylation with 10-undecenoic acid to introduce carboxylic groups, enabling covalent PNA immobilization through the carbodiimide chemistry. Surface functionalization and stability in aqueous media were validated using both label-free optical reflectance and fluorescence spectroscopy. Probe conjugation was optimized at pH 5.5, resulting in a surface density of 1.12 ± 0.30 pmol cm<sup>-2</sup>. The biosensor exhibited reproducible, concentration-dependent responses to cTnT in the 0.02-0.16 ng mL<sup>-1</sup> range, with a limit of detection of 0.030 ± 2.0 × 1 0 <sup>-5</sup> ng mL<sup>-1</sup>. This performance is clinically relevant, as cTnT levels in healthy individuals are typically <0.01 ng mL<sup>-1</sup>, while MI patients often exceed 10 ng mL<sup>-1</sup>, reaching >100 ng mL<sup>-1</sup> in severe cases.

TalantaVol. 299
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Institut de Chimie de Nice (FR), Ospedale San Carlo (IT), Federico II University Hospital (IT), University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" (IT), Institute of Protein Biochemistry (IT), National Research Council (IT), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Acceleratori e Superconduttività Applicata (IT), University of Naples Federico II (IT)
Openalex Percentile: Top 74%
Silicon Nanostructures and Photoluminescence
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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