Rapid detection of progesterone by commercially available microelectrode chips

This work presents rapid detection of progesterone by utilizing a commercially available surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonator chip in coordination with an impedance affinity sensing method developed in our group. Interdigitated microelectrodes from the SAW chips were coated with anti-progesterone polyclonal antibody to capture progesterone and subsequently exposed to a solution containing progesterone. With the help of alternating current electrokinetics (ACEK) effects, binding of progesterone to the immobilized antibody was accelerated and, within two minutes, could be detected by continuous reading of the interfacial capacitance change over the microelectrodes. This ACEK-based capacitive sensor is of low cost, highly portable and easy to use, makes it perfect for point-of-care applications.