Adjunction of Avidin to a Cysteamine Self-Assembled Monolayer for Impedimetric Immunosensor

In this work an impedimetric immunosensor based on affinity immobilization method of a biotin labelled anti-human IgG antibody, used as a model system, was reported. The experimental procedure involves the growth of a self-assembled monolayer of a thiol (cysteamine) carrying terminal amine groups on gold electrodes. Glutarardehyde, a homobifunctional cross-linker, was used as a coupling reagent for the covalent linking of avidin to the amine groups of cysteamine. The attachment of the biotin labeled antibodies (anti-Human IgG) to the subsequent modified gold electrode was achieved by affinity interactions tacking advantage of the strong avidin-biotin bridge. The stepwise assembly process of the electrode was interrogated by means of cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and contact angle measurements. The response of the antibody modified electrode to their target antigens was investigated in the presence of BSA (bovin serum albumin) in order to alleviate non-specific adsorption problems. A proposed electrical model was used to analyse the experimental data. The resulting immunosensor has a linear dynamic range of 100 - 900 ng?ml–1 of antigen and a detection limit of 100 ng?ml–1.