Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.
Anal Bioanal Chem. 2024 Jan;416(1):87-106. doi: 10.1007/s00216-023-05047-1. Epub 2023 Nov 22.
The monitoring of stress levels in humans has become increasingly relevant, given the recent incline of stress-related mental health disorders, lifestyle impacts, and chronic physiological diseases. Long-term exposure to stress can induce anxiety and depression, heart disease, and risky behaviors, such as drug and alcohol abuse. Biomarker molecules can be quantified in biological fluids to study human stress. Cortisol, specifically, is a hormone biomarker produced in the adrenal glands with biofluid concentrations that directly correlate to stress levels in humans. The rapid, real-time detection of cortisol is necessary for stress management and predicting the onset of psychological and physical ailments. Current methods, including mass spectrometry and immunoassays, are effective for sensitive cortisol quantification. However, these techniques provide only single measurements which pose challenges in the continuous monitoring of stress levels. Additionally, these analytical methods often require trained personnel to operate expensive instrumentation. Alternatively, low-cost electrochemical biosensors enable the real-time detection and continuous monitoring of cortisol levels while also providing adequate analytical figures of merit (e.g., sensitivity, selectivity, sensor response times, detection limits, and reproducibility) in a simple design platform. This review discusses the recent developments in electrochemical biosensor design for the detection of cortisol in human biofluids. Special emphasis is given to biosensor recognition elements, including antibodies, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), and aptamers, as critical components of electrochemical biosensors for cortisol detection. Furthermore, the advantages and limiting factors of various electrochemical techniques and sensing in complex biofluid matrices are overviewed. Remarks on the current challenges and future perspectives regarding electrochemical biosensors for stress monitoring are provided, including matrix effects (pH dependence and biological interferences), wearability, and large-scale production.
鉴于与压力相关的心理健康障碍、生活方式影响和慢性生理疾病的近期上升趋势，监测人类的压力水平变得越来越重要。长期暴露于压力下会导致焦虑和抑郁、心脏病以及危险行为，如滥用药物和酗酒。生物标志物分子可以在生物流体中定量，以研究人类的压力。皮质醇，特别是一种在肾上腺中产生的激素生物标志物，其生物流体浓度与人类的压力水平直接相关。皮质醇的快速实时检测对于压力管理和预测心理和身体疾病的发作是必要的。目前的方法，包括质谱和免疫测定法，对于敏感的皮质醇定量是有效的。然而，这些技术仅提供单次测量，这在连续监测压力水平方面带来了挑战。此外，这些分析方法通常需要经过培训的人员来操作昂贵的仪器。相比之下，低成本电化学生物传感器能够实时检测和连续监测皮质醇水平，同时在简单的设计平台中提供足够的分析性能（例如，灵敏度、选择性、传感器响应时间、检测限和重现性）。本文综述了电化学生物传感器设计用于检测人体生物流体中皮质醇的最新进展。特别强调了生物传感器识别元件，包括抗体、分子印迹聚合物（MIP）和适体，它们是电化学生物传感器用于皮质醇检测的关键组成部分。此外，还概述了各种电化学技术和在复杂生物流体基质中的传感的优点和限制因素。本文还就用于压力监测的电化学生物传感器的当前挑战和未来展望进行了评论，包括基质效应（pH 依赖性和生物干扰）、可穿戴性和大规模生产。
