Detection with Active Capture of Breast Cancer Marker MUC1 Using a MXene-Based Electrochemical Actuator

The electrochemical aptamer-based detection of mucin 1 (MUC1) has been widely used for the early diagnosis and detection of breast cancer, which is of vital significance for reducing the incidence and mortality of this disease. However, the immutability of electrodes restricts the binding efficiency between electrodes and target biomolecules during the incubation process, limiting the ability of electrochemical aptasensors to efficiently and rapidly detect target molecules. Herein, the fabrication of a three-layer MXene-Au electrochemical actuator is reported for the active MUC1 detection. Using cyclic actuation characteristics achieved via the reversible insertion and detachment of ions in electrodes, the MXene-Au electrochemical actuator actively captures MUC1 in the region distant from the electrode during the incubation process. This improves the binding efficiency between the electrode and MUC1 and significantly reduces the aptamer-MUC1 binding time. The ultrasensitive and active detection of MUC1 was achieved with a detection limit of 0.65 fg mL^-1, which was 2 orders of magnitude higher than that achieved during passive detection using the same structure.