Hyaluronic acid-based label-free electrochemical impedance analysis for cancer cell quantification and CD44 expression

• Published in: Microchemical journal 2021-01, Vol.160, p.105622, Article 105622
• Main Authors: Zhou, Yaping, Wan, Yao, Yu, Ming, Yuan, Xiaoyan, Zhang, Chengjiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cancer cells; CD44; Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; Hyaluronic acid
• ISSN: 0026-265X; 1095-9149
• DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2020.105622

•A label-free impedance sensor for cancer cells detection was developed.•Capture of cells on electrode surface based on hyaluronic acid-CD44 interaction.•The change of electron-transfer resistance was used to analyze CD44 expression.•CD44 expression on MDA-MB-231 cells is higher than that on L02 or HCT116 cells. In this study, a novel label-free electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) sensor was developed by successfully conjugating hyaluronic acid (HA) with bovine serum albumin (BSA)-modified gold nanoparticles (GNPs) for cancer cell quantification and CD44 expression analysis. Based on the molecular recognition of HA, the CD44-overexpressing cancer cells can be captured on the nanocomposites (HA-BSA-GNPs) modified electrode, increasing the electron-transfer resistance (Ret). The change of Ret was measured by the EIS to quantify the number of cancer cells and evaluate the CD44 expression level on the cell surface. Under optimal conditions, the change of Ret was proportional to the logarithm of the cell concentration, namely from 2.0 × 102 to 3.0 × 105 cells mL−1 with a detection limit of 128 cells mL−1 for the MDA-MB-231 cells. Moreover, compared to HCT116 and L02 cells, the MDA-MB-231 cells exhibited a distinctly higher expression level of CD44. This indicates that the MDA-MB-231 cells have greater metastatic potential. The proposed sensor may find potential applications in cancer monitoring and research on tumor metastasis.