Organic electrolyte gated field effect transistor for detecting alpha synuclein longitudinally in Parkinsonism mouse model.

Abstract

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is an age-progressive disorder caused by misfolding of alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) that can begin years before clinical symptoms appear, making early diagnosis crucial for timely intervention. In this study, a novel antibody-functionalized Organic Electrolyte-Gated Field-Effect-Transistor (Ab-OEGFET) biosensor was implemented to detect α-Syn levels in blood serum samples from an A53T Transgenic (TG) mouse line. PD-like pathology was examined in blood serum using Ab-OEGFET devices and in brain tissue samples using Western Blot and immunohistochemistry. Different forms (monomeric, phosphorylated, oligomeric) of α-Syn were identified in low volumes of blood serum samples collected from TG and Wild Type (WT) populations of mice at ages 2, 5 and 8 months, and the biosensor response was correlated to Blot and immunohistochemistry results. The Ab-OEGFETs performance in this study is a promising result towards a minimally invasive blood biomarker-based multianalyte testing strategy for early screening of PD and similar neurodegenerative disease pathologies.