Pad Printing of Carbon Electrodes with Argon Plasma Activation as a Simple and Low Temperature Manufacturing Process for Antibody-Type Biosensors

Abstract

In diagnostic tools, rapid in vitro tests such as COVID-19 antigen or pregnancy tests are gaining significance for identifying various pathologies or health conditions. This shift contributes to a change in the way diagnostic efforts are carried out, emphasizing decentralized approaches that offer valuable services within communities, yielding long-term advantages for the healthcare system. Considering the substantial quantity of these tests manufactured and used annually, a straightforward manufacturing process is proposed for highly sensitive carbon electrodes designed for antibody-type biomarker sensors. This process, utilizing pad printing – an additive, low-temperature, and cost-effective method, coupled with plasma activation – has proven the electrodes capability to measure interferon gamma protein, a tuberculosis biomarker. Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, the electrodes display high sensitivity and are capable of measuring concentrations from 10 to 1000 pg mL⁻¹ in undiluted serum within an hour. The sensor, utilizing solely a monolayer of antibodies, achieves a performance equivalent to that of a commercial standard sandwich ELISA tested in this study.