Research Projects

Myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow to the heart muscle is obstructed, leading to tissue damage or necrosis. Early and accurate diagnosis is critical, as delays in treatment significantly increase morbidity and mortality. Cardiac troponins (cTnI, cTnT) are gold-standard biomarkers for MI diagnosis due to their high specificity and sensitivity in detecting myocardial injury. However, conventional methods for detecting cardiac troponin require centralized laboratories, are time-consuming, invasive (blood draws), and costly, making them less accessible in resource-limited and rural healthcare settings. The electro-sensor with a Schottky metal-channel interface can detect ultra-low levels of troponin molecules with a minimal blood draw just from a finger-prick method, enabling a rapid, accurate, and low-cost detection approach compared to traditional electrochemical methods, which are not as compatible for POC device development. This proposal aims to develop a fully printed electrode-based micro-electrosensor for ultra-sensitive detection of cardiac troponin (cTnI) at the point-of-care for on-site MI diagnosis. The proposed device will utilize a fully printed microsensor fabricated via microcantilever or aerosol-jet printing, composed of a highly sensitive layer such as graphene quantum dots, or reduced graphene oxide-p-Phenylenediamine (rGO-PPD) doped with either silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) or gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) functionalized with troponin-specific aptamers, enabling room-temperature, label-free detection with high specificity. Printed microelectrode structures reduce material wastage and enable seamless integration of conductive and biorecognition layers in a compact format [4, 5, 7, 8, 11]. The sensor will be integrated with a NodeMCUESP32-based microcontroller system for real-time monitoring, leveraging amperometric measurements to quantify cTnI through redox-mediated current changes upon aptamer-analyte interaction. This configuration enables rapid (within 5–10 minutes) and low-volume (using a finger-prick) testing, reducing the dependency on centralized diagnostics. By addressing the limitations of existing detection strategies, the proposed device aims to deliver a safe, cost-effective (reducing per-test costs significantly below Rs. 500 levels), and reusable platform for the early diagnosis of MI, thereby improving timely intervention and reducing mortality, especially in underserved areas.