Empirical Model for Identifying Protein Concentrations in Wound Using Cyclic Voltammetry

The establishment of an accurate and efficient method for the sensitive detection of protein concentrations in fluids using miniaturized electrochemical sensors is presented. As protein levels in wounds can be utilized to assess the status and severity of a wound and determine the best course of treatment, real-time quantification is potentially extremely valuable. The experimental methodology for monitoring protein concentrations using screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) that requires minimal sample size (as small as 80 mu L) for each measurement is presented. The technique was modeled and implemented using bovine serum albumin concentrations from 0.3 to 30 mg/ml and was used to detect changes in concentration. The results demonstrated a good stability and reproducibility when making measurements on different protein concentrations. This technique was tested and verified using two different types of SPCEs. Although both consist of three electrode electrochemical cells, one has an added Poly-L-Lysine coating to anchor protein and improve efficiency. The objective of this letter was to establish for the first time a device with the necessary mathematical model that can be used by clinicians to assess the severity of the wound through measuring the protein concentration.