DEVELOPMENT OF A GENOSENSOR BASED ON SILVER NANOPARTICLE ENCAPSULATED IN Pi-CONJUGATED POLYMER FOR MONITORING OF miRNA IN PATHOGENIC CELLS

• Grant number: 24/08769-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: January 01, 2025
• End date: October 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Fernando de Souza Teixeira
• Grantee: Miquéias de Lima Portugal
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The investigation of the correlation between non-coding RNA (miRNA) and the progression ofinfectious and neoplastic processes has led the scientific effort to minimize the limitations on the detection of specific miRNA as biomarkers, and, consequently the mechanism studies formonitoring pathologies and efficiency of disease treatment. The objective of the present researchproject will be the development of a device based on a nanocomposite of silver nanoparticles(AgNPs) encapsulated in Bismarck Brown Y (poly(azo-BBY)) azopolymer for the impedimetricsensing of the global level of miRNA-122 in pathogenic cells. The sensorial platform must beconstructed by electropolymerization in a single step in situ in a solution containing the azo-BBYmonomer and silver nitrate in an acidic medium of HNO3 0.10 on the surface of the interdigitalized gold electrode. The gensensor biorecognition will be elaborated by the immobilization of a thiolated DNA probe (ssDNA) on the device surface that it is going to be revested by the blended azopolymer-AgNPs. In the following process, the platform will be analyzed by sweep electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), to study thenanocomposite morphology. Applying electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) will allow us to investigate the interfacial phenomena of the nanocomposite, enabling a more detailed analysisof the electrochemical characteristics and properties of the material. The genosensor response mechanism will be based on changes in the system impedance values due to the interaction of the miRNA-122 analyte in a phosphate buffer solution at physiological pH with the thiolated ssDNA probe, immobilized on the pi-conjugated sensitive network of the azopolymer-AgNPsnanomaterial. Subsequently, the final stage of the project aims to apply the chemiresistor platform in quantitative monitoring of the global level of miRNA-122 in HPV pathogenic cells by in vitro assay. At this stage, the research project will be developed in the physiology research group(GPFis) - UNESP, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Patrícia M. Seraphim, who has extensiveexperience in studies with biological application. As an international collaboration, biologicalelectron transfer reactions, redox signaling mechanisms and their interfacial interactions with the sensorial platform will be studied in the laboratory coordinated/directed by Prof. Dr. Felismina Teixeira Coelho Moreira da University of Porto (Portugal).

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

PIZZOL, PEDRO C. M.; PORTUGAL, MIQUEIASL.; TREVIZAN, HEITOR F.; SERAPHIM, PATRICIA MONTEIRO; TEIXEIRA, MARCOS F. S.. Impedimetric Immunosensor for 5-Methylcytosine Detection Based on a Poly(o-phenylenediamine)-Encapsulated Gold Nanoparticle Platform. ACS APPLIED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS, v. 7, n. 8, p. 15-pg., 2025-04-03. (13/07296-2, 24/08769-6)

OLEAN-OLIVEIRA, ANDRE; SERAPHIM, PATRICIA MONTEIRO; PORTUGAL, MIQUEIAS L.; TEIXEIRA, MARCOS F. S.. A novel GLUT-4 electrochemical immunosensor based on a poly (thionine)-gold nanoparticle nanocomposite: Combining complex capacitance and dissolved oxygen to obtain an analytical signal. BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS, v. 275, p. 8-pg., 2025-05-01. (13/07296-2, 24/08769-6)