Peptide-imprinted conductive polymer on continuous monolayer molybdenum disulfide transferred electrodes for electrochemical sensing of Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 in lung cancer culture medium

Matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) is associated with lung cancer, and thus the monitoring of the concentration of this protein may be useful for assessing lung cancer progression. In this work, poly(triphenylamine rhodanine-3-acetic acid-co-3,4-ethoxylene dioxy thiophene)s were incorporated onto a continuous monolayer (cML) of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) by peptide-imprinted electropolymerization, in which peptides of MMP-1 were used as the templates in epitope imprinting. The morphology of the MoS₂ thin film was monitored using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The imprinted MoS₂ thin film electrode electrochemically responseded (at 1.0 pg/mL MMP-1) 1.4 times than ordinary imprinted electrodes. Moreover, MoS₂ cML coating with PIPs can extend the sensing range of the PIP-coated electrodes from 1.0 pg/mL up to 10.0 pg/mL. The MoS₂ cML electrode was used to determine that the MMP-1 concentration in the A549 cell line culture medium was 800 ng/mL. Comparison with results from a commercially available ELISA kit indicated an accuracy of 95 ± 5%.