Handheld electrochemical sensors are part of the daily
routine for millions of people with diabetes around the globe who
monitor their blood sugar levels with electric glucometers. While
such sensors have revolutionized at-home medical testing for
diabetics, they have not yet been successfully applied to
diagnosing other conditions. Sensors like glucometers detect
glucose in blood based on the activity of an enzyme, and there are
only a limited number of enzymes that can be used to sense
biomarkers of human disease. An alternative detection strategy
based on binding events between antibodies and their molecular
targets have been investigated to expand the use of electrochemical
sensors for medicine, but these sensors fall victim to the rapid
accumulation of “fouling” substances from biological fluids on
their conductive surfaces, which deactivate them. Existing
antifouling coatings are difficult to mass-manufacture, suffer from
quality and consistency issues, and are not very
effective.
