Reagentless Redox Capacitive Assaying of C‑Reactive Protein at a Polyaniline Interface

Methods that enable the sensitive and label-free detection of protein biomarkers are well-positioned to make potentially significant contributions to diagnostics and derived personalized healthcare. In support of this goal, a myriad of (electrochemical) methodologies have been developed; recently, electrochemical capacitance spectroscopy emerged as an impedance-derived approach which, in employing surface-confined redox-transducers, circumvents problems associated with the use of solution-phase redox-probes. Herein, we expand this scope by utilizing phytic acid-doped polyaniline as a novel redox-charging polymer support enabling the reagentless assaying of C-reactive protein in serum with good sensitivity. The construction of the sensory interface via electropolymerization allows facile tuning of the surface coverage and redox (capacitive) properties of the polymers, which, in turn, modulate both assay selectivity, fouling, and sensitivity. Significantly, this methodology is readily extendable to a wide range of electrode materials and analytes.