A Novel NiFe(2)O(4)/Paper-Based Magnetoelastic Biosensor to Detect Human Serum Albumin

For the first time, a novel NiFe(2)O(4)/paper-based magnetoelastic (ME) biosensor was developed for rapid, sensitive, and portable detection of human serum albumin (HSA). Due to the uniquely magnetoelastic effect of NiFe(2)O(4) nanoparticles and the excellent mechanical properties of the paper, the paper-based ME biosensor transforms the surface stress signal induced by the specific binding of HSA and antibody modified on the paper into the electromagnetic signal. The accumulated binding complex generates a compressive stress on the biosensor surface, resulting in a decrease in the biosensor’s static magnetic permeability, which correlates to the HSA concentrations. To improve the sensitivity of the biosensor, the concentration of NiFe(2)O(4) nanofluid and the impregnated numbers of the NiFe(2)O(4) nanofluid-impregnated papers were optimized. The experimental results demonstrated that the biosensor exhibited a linear response to HSA concentrations ranging from 10 μg∙mL(−1) to 200 μg∙mL(−1), with a detection limit of 0.43 μg∙mL(−1), which is significantly lower than the minimal diagnosis limit of microalbuminuria. The NiFe(2)O(4)/paper-based ME biosensor is easy to fabricate, and allows the rapid, highly-sensitive, and selective detection of HSA, providing a valuable analytical device for early monitoring and clinical diagnosis of microalbuminuria and nephropathy. This study shows the successful integration of the paper-based biosensor and the ME sensing analytical method will be a highly-sensitive, easy-to-use, disposable, and portable alternative for point-of-care monitoring.