Danielle Sogbesan

Presentation Title

Optimizing electrochemical aptamer based biosensors in cerebrospinal fluid for intracranial drug measurement: the role of large proteins in signal drift

Abstract

The ability to monitor intracranial molecular concentrations in real time in freely moving animals, alongside simultaneous behavioral readouts, has become an important advance in neuroscience research. For example, pharmacokinetic parameters such as time to maximum concentration and maximum concentration (Cmax) are key determinants of drug effects in the brain. Here, we use a novel electrochemical biosensor approach based on analyte-specific aptamer interrogation to enable real-time quantification of target molecules in vivo. To date, this technology has been successfully applied in blood, interstitial fluid, and muscle tissue in both anesthetized and awake rodents. However, a major limitation is progressive signal degradation, or signal drift, which has been characterized in blood but not yet in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In this study, we show that proteins larger than 100 kDa are the primary contributors to signal drift observed in electrochemical aptamer-based (EAB) sensors measuring in unfiltered CSF.