Electrochemical sensing of nuclear matrix protein 22 in urine with molecularly imprinted poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) coated zinc oxide nanorod arrays for clinical studies of bladder cancer diagnosis.

In 1996 and 2000, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Nuclear matrix protein 22 (NMP22) as a monitoring tool for predicting the recurrence/clearing of bladder cancer, and for screening undiagnosed individuals who have symptoms of, or are at risk for, that disease. The fabrication of electrodes for sensing NMP22 and their integration with a portable potentiostat in a homecare system may have great value. This work describes a sensing element comprised of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the specific recognition of NMP22 target molecules. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods (214 ± 45 nm in diameter and 1.08 ± 0.11 μm long) were hydrothermally grown on the sensing electrodes to increase the surface area to be coated with MIPs. A portable potentiostat was assembled and a data acquisition (DAQ) card and the Labview program were utilized to monitor electrochemical reaction to sense NMP22 in urine samples. Finally, in phase 0 clinical trials, measurements were made of samples from a few patients with bladder cancer using the NMP22 MIP-coated ZnO nanorods electrodes that were integrated into a portable potentiostat, revealing NMP 22 concentrations in the range 128 ± 19 to 588 ± 53 ng/mL.