In this work, UiO-66-NH2/GO nanocomposite was prepared using a simple solvothermal technique, and its structure and morphology were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). An enhanced electrochemical sensor for the detection of epirubicin (EP) was proposed, which utilized a UiO-66-NH2/GO nanocomposite-modified screen-printed graphite electrode (UiO-66-NH2/GO/SPGE). The prepared UiO-66-NH2/GO nanocomposite improved the electrochemical performance of the SPGE towards the redox reaction of EP. Under optimized experimental conditions, this sensor demonstrates a remarkable limit of detection (LOD) of 0.003 µM and a linear dynamic range from 0.008 to 200.0 µM, providing a highly capable platform for sensing EP. Furthermore, the simultaneous electro-catalytic oxidation of EP and topotecan (TP) was investigated at the UiO-66-NH2/GO/SPGE surface utilizing differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). DPV measurements revealed the presence of two distinct oxidation peaks of EP and TP, with a peak potential separation of 200 mV. Finally, the UiO-66-NH2/GO/SPGE sensor was successfully utilized for the quantitative analysis of EP and TP in pharmaceutical injection, yielding highly satisfactory results.

The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused the COVID-19 disease, has highlighted our urgent need for sensitive, fast and accurate diagnostic technologies. In fact, one of the main challenges for flatting COVID-19 spread charts is the ability to accurately and rapidly identify asymptomatic cases that result in spreading the virus to close contacts. SARS-CoV-2 virus mutation is also relatively rapid, which makes the detection of COVID-19 diseases still crucial even after the vaccination. Conventional techniques, which are commercially available have focused on clinical manifestation, along with molecular and serological detection tools that can identify the SARS-CoV-2 virus however, owing to various disadvantages including low specificity and sensitivity, a quick, low cost and easy approach is needed for diagnosis of COVID-19. Scientists are now showing extensive interest in an effective portable and simple detection method to diagnose COVID-19. There are several novel methods and approaches that are considered viable advanced systems that can meet the demands. This study reviews the new approaches and sensing technologies that work on COVID-19 diagnosis for easy and successful detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Widely used anti-cancer treatments involving chemotherapeutic drugs result in cancer cell damage due to their strong interaction with DNA. In this work, we have developed laboratory biosensors for screening chemotherapeutic drugs and to aid in the assessment of DNA modification/damage caused by these drugs. The sensors utilize surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy and electrochemical methods to monitor sensory film modification and observe the drug-DNA reactivity. The self-assembled monolayer protected gold-disk electrode (AuDE) was coated with a reduced graphene oxide (rGO), decorated with plasmonic gold-coated Fe2Ni@Au magnetic nanoparticles functionalized with double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), a sequence of the breast cancer gene BRCA1. The nanobiosensors AuDE/SAM/rGO/Fe2Ni@Au/dsDNA were then subjected to the action of a model chemotherapeutic drug, doxorubicin (DOX), to assess the DNA modification and its dose dependence. The designed novel nanobiosensors offer SERS/electrochemical transduction, enabling chemically specific and highly sensitive analytical signals generation. The SERS measurements have corroborated the DOX intercalation into the DNA duplex whereas the electrochemical scans have indicated that the DNA modification by DOX proceeds in a concentration dependent manner, with limit of detection LOD=8 µg/mL (S/N=3), with semilog linearity over 3 orders of magnitude. These new biosensors are sensitive to agents that interact with DNA and facilitate the analysis of functional groups for determination of the binding mode. The proposed nanobiosensors can be applied in the first stage of the drug development for testing the interactions of new drugs with DNA before the drug efficacy can be assessed in more expensive testing in vitro and in vivo.

Detection of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in biological fluids is of paramount importance, since it has significant application in cancer diagnosis, drug development, and therapy monitoring. EGFR is a cancer biomarker, and its overexpression is associated with the development of some types of cancer. Herein, we report on the development of a sensitive and selective electrochemical aptamer/antibody (Apt/Ab) sandwich immunosensor for detection of EGFR. In this study, a biotinylated anti-human EGFR Apt was immobilized on streptavidin-coated magnetic beads (MB) and served as a capture probe. A polyclonal anti-human EGFR Ab was conjugated to citrate-coated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and used as a signaling probe. In the presence of EGFR, an Apt-EGFR-Ab sandwich was formed on the MB surface. The extent of the complexation was evaluated by differential pulse voltammetry of AuNPs after their dissolution in HCl. Under optimal conditions, the dynamic concentration range of the immunosensor for EGFR spanned from 1 to 40 ng/mL, with a low detection limit of 50 pg/mL, and RSD percent of less than 4.2%. The proposed approach takes advantage of sandwich assay for high specificity, MBs for fast separation, and electrochemical method for cost-effective and sensitive detection. In this proof-of-principle study, we demonstrate the potential clinical efficacy of the immunosensor for monitoring of chemotherapy effectiveness in breast cancer samples.