Clusterin (CLU) has been associated with the clinical progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and described as a potential AD biomarker in blood plasma. Due to the enormous attention given to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers for the past couple of decades, recently found blood-based AD biomarkers like CLU have not yet been reported for biosensors. Herein, we report the electrochemical detection of CLU for the first time using a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) modified with 1-pyrenebutyric acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester (Pyr-NHS) and decorated with specific anti-CLU antibody fragments. This bifunctional linker molecule contains succinylimide ester to bind protein at one end while its pyrene moiety attaches to the carbon surface by means of π-π stacking. Cyclic voltammetric and square wave voltammetric studies showed the limit of detection down to 1 pg/mL and a linear concentration range of 1–100 pg/mL with good sensitivity. Detection of CLU in spiked human plasma was demonstrated with satisfactory recovery percentages to that of the calibration data. The proposed method facilitates the cost-effective and viable production of label-free point-of-care devices for the clinical diagnosis of AD.

We report on a label-free immunosensor based on graphene field effect transistors (G-FETs) for the ultrasensitive detection of Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG), as an indicator of pregnancy and related disorders, such as actopic pregnancy, choriocarcinoma and orchic teratoma. Pyrene based bioactive ester was non-covalently anchored onto the graphene channel in order to retain the sp² lattice. The G-FET transfer characteristics showed repeatable and reliable responses in all surface modifying steps using a direct current (DC) readout system. The hCG concentration gradient showed a detection limit of ~1 pg·mL⁻¹. The proposed method facilitates the cost-effective and viable production of graphene point-of-care devices for clinical diagnosis.