Diagnosis of Interstitial Cystitis with Single-chip Multiplexed Biosensing Array of Urine Biomarkers at the Point-of-Care

Interstitial cystitis is a chronic condition causing bladder pain, bladder pressure, and sometimes accompanied by pelvic pain and other symptoms overlapping with similar diseases. Urine biomarkers including cytokines and growth factors play a crucial role in the diagnostic criteria of interstitial cystitis. We report a multiplexed biosensor for simultaneous detection of interleukin-1 $\alpha$ and vascular endothelial growth factor on the same chip exhibiting rapid and accurate sensing capabilities at point-of-care. These two urine biomarkers showcased a significant increase in patients with interstitial cystitis compared to healthy controls. The developed biosensor detected and monitored interleukin-1 $\alpha$ and vascular endothelial growth factor simultaneously in a linear detection range of 0.01 to 100 pg/mL and 1 to 1000 pg/mL, and a detection limit of 1 fg/mL and 10 fg/mL, respectively. In addition, high sensitivity, high selectivity, and reproducible performance of the fabricated multiplexed sensor manifest a huge potential in the real-time determination and clinical analysis of interstitial cystitis.