A portable aptasensor for facile personalized monitoring of serum uric acid

Uric acid (UA) is an important antioxidant to balance the oxidative stress of human body. Although UA exists mainly in human urine, serum UA is much more stable and is of higher clinical value. Since UA is associated with multiple diseases, methods capable of rapid and accurate detection of UA are of great importance for personalized health monitoring. Herein, a dual-FRET aptasensor with low signal background was developed for serum UA detection. It exhibited high selectivity against small molecules with similar redox potential or structures, as well as the main components in serum. For clinical serum samples analysis, the results by the proposed aptasensor were in good agreement with those by the hospital assay. To facilitate personalized health monitoring, a 3D-printed device was developed for the aptasensor, and an RGB-based cell phone App was designed for signal readout. The portable aptasensor could detect serum UA within 10 min, and the results for serum samples were also in consistent with the hospital assay. Moreover, with the portable aptasensor, it was confirmed that serum UA was more stable than urinary UA, and thus was more clinically relevant for personalized diagnosis.