SERS-based immunoassay for monitoring cortisol-related disorders

Author(s)

Villa, Javier E. L. ^{[1, 2, 3]} ; Garcia, Isabel ^{[3, 4]} ; Jimenez de Aberasturi, Dorleta ^{[5, 3, 4]} ; Pavlov, Valeri ^[3] ; Sotomayor, Maria D. P. T. ^{[1, 2]} ; Liz-Marzan, Luis M. ^{[5, 3, 4]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Inst Quim, BR-14800060 Araraquara, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, INCT DATREM, BR-14800060 Araraquara, SP - Brazil

^[3] Basque Res & Technol Alliance BRTA, CIC BiomaGUNE, Paseo Miramon 182, Donostia San Sebastian 20014 - Spain

^[4] Ctr Invest Biomed Red Bioingn Biomat & Nanomed CI, Paseo Miramon 182, Donostia San Sebastian 20014 - Spain

^[5] Basque Fdn Sci, Ikerbasque, Bilbao 48013 - Spain

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS; v. 165, OCT 1 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

As a natural response to a stressful situation, the human body produces cortisol. For this reason, cortisol is also called ``the stress hormone{''} and is considered to be the principal stress biomarker. Although cortisol response to stress is essential for survival, abnormal levels in biological fluids may represent serious health risks. In this work, we present a cortisol biosensor which relies on a highly sensitive technique (surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, SERS) and a specific recognition (immunoassay). Gold nanostars were used as SERS nanotags, since they provided a better response than nanorods or nanospheres. Using the same concept, two different immunoassay modalities were evaluated, using either magnetic beads or gold-coated glass slides decorated with cortisol antibodies as the capture substrates. The magnetically-assisted SERS immunoassay presented a better performance and was therefore selected to quantify cortisol content in biological fluids (urine and serum). Significant advantages of this assay were found over standard methods such as Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS) and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), including higher sensitivity and repeatability, minimum sample preparation, simplicity, and portability. Therefore, the proposed SERS immunoassay might be implemented as a highly efficient tool for in situ monitoring of human stress levels and cortisol-related disorders (e.g. Cushing's syndrome and Addison's disease). (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/50945-4 - INCT 2014: National Institute for Alternative Technologies of Detection, Toxicological Evaluation and Removal of Micropollutants and Radioactivies
• Grantee: Maria Valnice Boldrin
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/24202-5 - Development of a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy-based immunoassay sensor for the selective and sensitive determination of cortisol in biological fluids
• Grantee: Javier Erick Lobatón Villa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor