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BMES High School Student Chapter Member

HS Poster

Poster 47 - Cost-Effective Biosensors for Detection of Dopamine through the use of Laser-Induced Graphene Electrode Enhancements

Saturday, October 26, 2024
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST
Location: Exhibit Hall E, F & G

Introduction: More than 21 million adults suffer from depression in America each year. An even higher and alarming amount of 57 million adults suffer from mental illness in the US alone. Neural related issues and conditions have a stronghold on a large percent of the human population, and its headlines only seem to increase exponentially, resulting in a parallel importance for research, in an attempt to better understand and solve these brain-twisting difficulties. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter, is well-known by the general population, but less known, is it's extreme importance and contribution in the medical research field. This is due to Dopamine's prominence and appearance in areas of the brain and neural system, allowing for its detection to help determine illnesses. For example, lower concentrations of Dopamine within the Central Neural System could hint at Parkinson's, Schizophrenia, or general addiction. Now that the idea and importance of Dopamine has been introduced, it is also important to underline the problems surrounding Dopamine. The current methods in detecting Dopamine, mainly Chromatography, require a hefty amount of time, a hired expert, and an unnecessary amount of money. These discrepancies make the detection of Dopamine an annoying and inefficient process, which is definitely not ideal, when its detection is constantly being used in analysis and experimentation. My goal and purpose is to develop an effective but affordable strategy to detect Dopamine, allowing for an easier method in further experiments or clinical tests.

Materials and

Methods: The process I have concluded in the detection of Dopamine is Square Wave Voltammetry, an electrochemical test that utilizes the electroactive properties of Dopamine. To generalize this process, voltage is applied to an electrode, and based on the concentration of Dopamine within the substance, peeks of current can be read. The biosensor, or electrode, needs to correctly conduct and read peaks of Dopamine in Voltammetry, which is a problem, as different peaks of electro-active acids, most notably Uric Acid and Ascorbic Acid, also found in the body interfere with the peak of Dopamine. On top of this, the biosensor also needs to be affordable, leading me to my choice of electrode. For the material of the electrode, I used Laser-Induced Graphene, a 2-D layer of Graphene formed by shining a laser on a sheet of commercial polymer known as polyimide. Polyimide is extremely affordable, each sheet costing around 40 dollars, compared to gold, which can cost 2,000 dollars per ounce. This 2-D layer of Carbon is additionally conductive, which is important in separating Dopamine's peak (The more conductive, the more separated the peaks). The next step is my main focus, and the game-changer. We enhance the electrode by adding PEDOT, Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), and nanosheets of Graphene Oxide to the surface of the electrode. These enhancements heavily increase the surface area and make the electrode more conductive. This is crucial as the electrode is now more sensitive and selective towards Dopamine, allowing for a separated and more defined peak.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions: To run the experiment, I optimized the laser parameters for the laser-induced graphene, and when I found the best settings for a conductive and durable (this is important as it might be used as an implant), I added my enhancements to the surface of the electrode. For the PEDOT, I actually add EDOT, and when added to the surface, it polymerizes in to PEDOT. Using a Potentiostat, I run a Square Wave Voltammetry on the electrodes in a solution containing known concentrations of Dopamine, and generate an average of the graphs. Square Wave Voltammetry actually makes the Potentiostat apply voltage in pulses, eliminating capacitance that could interfere with Dopamine peeks. After these pulses are applied, we can read the peaks of current. I took these peaks of current, along with their position and height, and generated a calibration curve, a curve relating current to concentration of Dopamine. The results of the experiment proved to be successful, as a solid peak of Dopamine was seen un-interfered in our Square Wave Voltammetry. This peak was successfully calibrated in to a calibration curve, and we were able to correctly read the concentration of Dopamine using the new biosensors. After this success of a cost-effective biosensor in detecting Dopamine, I hope for it to be utilized in the medical field, as a main and affordable method in detecting Dopamine. This new biosensor could potentially help researchers perform more accurate and efficient experiments, and allow for less supplied labs to run tests requiring the detection of Dopamine.

Acknowledgements (Optional): I would like to acknowledge USC SHINE, a high-school program, for offering me this opportunity, and allowing a lab space for me to experiment Additionally, I would like to thank my USC SHINE mentor Farbod Amirghas, who taught me the protocols and tips in working in a lab environment, and reviewed my work, keeping me in the right track. Finally, I would like to thank my family, who supported me in my future and helped fund all the expenses of USC SHINE, and encouraging me to pursue my goals.

References (Optional): Lakard, Sophie, Ileana-Alexandra Pavel, and Boris Lakard. "Electrochemical biosensing of dopamine neurotransmitter: A review." Biosensors 11.6 (2021): 179.

Weaver, C. L., et al. "A graphene oxide/conducting polymer nanocomposite for electrochemical dopamine detection: origin of improved sensitivity and specificity." Journal of Materials Chemistry B 2.32 (2014): 5209-5219.