Cancer Cell Detection-Based on Released Hydrogen Peroxide Using a Non-Modified Closed Bipolar Electrochemical System

Abstract

In this study, a non-modified closed bipolar electrochemical system for ultrasensitive cancer cell detection by quantitative measurement of released hydrogen peroxide in the presence of ascorbic acid has been developed. This system includes two separate chambers (reporting and sensing), a piece of a gold archival CD (compact disc) as a bipolar electrode, and two platinum driving electrodes. By following the ECL (electrochemiluminescence) intensities of luminol oxidation in the reporting chamber, the hydrogen peroxide released by cancer cells in the presence of ascorbic acid was monitored. Under the optimum conditions, the biosensor delivers a wide linear range from 2.5×10−9 to 1×10−6 M, and a detection limit for hydrogen peroxide as low as 1.8×10−9 M. Also, this system can detect cancer blood cell concentrations (CCRF-CEM: T-lymphoblastic leukemia cell line) as low as 12 cells in 300 μL of cell suspension. The present bipolar electrode-electrochemiluminescence (BPE-ECL) system demonstrates a simple and low-cost device with excellent performance without any electrode surface modification for the detection of cancer cells based on different levels of released hydrogen peroxide by normal and cancer cells. The present biosensor can be applied as a promising alternative method for the detection of H2O2 in the field of pathology, cancer diagnosis, and environmental monitoring. © 2020 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim