Electrochemical microfluidic biosensors for the detection of cancer biomarker miRNAs
- PMID: 40339339
- DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2025.128282
Electrochemical microfluidic biosensors for the detection of cancer biomarker miRNAs
Abstract
Cancer is a formidable adversary in contemporary healthcare. Routine screening and early diagnosis are crucial for favourable therapeutic outcomes. Publications, clinical trials, and patent landscape analysis suggest miRNA as promising biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of various cancers. This review intends to shed a holistic view of the current and futuristic methods for electrochemical biosensing platforms, using miRNA as biomarkers, coupled with microfluidics, machine learning techniques, and portable electronic devices. Electrochemical biosensors are thoroughly reviewed as they are promising candidate in the design and development of such devices where there is an in-depth exploration of the existing molecular techniques and sophisticated electrochemical biosensing strategies developed for the detection of miRNAs. Additionally, the review will critically analyze diverse signal enhancement strategies and microfluidic platforms specifically tailored for the detection of miRNA. Practical examples of such integrated electrochemical microfluidic biosensors are thoroughly cited along with the prospect of integration of these techniques with portable electronics, highlighting the future potential of highly integrated and accessible diagnostic solutions. Furthermore, the review will also encompass an assessment of the ongoing clinical trials investigating the utility of miRNA as cancer biomarker in diagnostic settings. Moreover, by assessing existing patents, the review shall provide a nuanced understanding of the intellectual property landscape, identifying key players, emerging technologies, and potential future directions. Our review with a 360-degree updated view on molecular biology components, electrochemical biosensors, engineering device design, clinical trials and patent landscape would appeal to researchers, engineers and clinicians working in the area of cancer molecular diagnosis.
Keywords: Biosensors; Cancer; Electrochemical detection; Microfluidics; microRNA.
Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Conflict of interest statement
Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Dharitri Rath reports financial support was provided by Indian Institute of Technology Jammu. Dharitri Rath reports financial support was provided by India Ministry of Textiles. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.