2026-06-30T19:06:52Z https://www.eurjchem.com/index.php/eurjchem/oai

oai:ojs.www.eurjchem.com:article/2748 2026-06-30T06:05:13Z eurjchem:ART driver

Experimental comparison of electrochemical and quantum transport-based biodetection methods for RNA cancer biomarkers Williams, Ajoke Arachchillage, Keshani Gayathri Gunasinghe Pattiya Chandra, Subrata Vivancos, Juan Manuel Artes KRAS G12V Single molecule Bioelectrochemistry RNA cancer biomarkers Biomolecular electronics Electrochemical biosensors Molecular electronics detection Cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide and early‑stage detection is essential to improve patient outcomes. Recent advances in nanoscale sensing have opened up new pathways for ultrasensitive, label-free detection of nucleic acid biomarkers. In this work, we compare two sensor platforms for a KRAS G12V RNA biomarker: (i) a classical bioelectrochemical sensor that exploits the redox activity of methylene blue modified DNA probes, and (ii) a recently reported quantum transport-based single-molecule sensor that measures conductance changes of individual DNA: RNA hybrids using scanning ‑ tunneling‑microscopy break‑junctions (STM‑BJ). By comparing both approaches, we evaluate their key performance metrics -limit of detection, specificity, and robustness- in biologically relevant complex media. The electrochemical sensor reaches a femtomolar detection limit, but fails to discriminate a single‑base mismatch under the tested conditions. In contrast, the STM-BJ platform delivers attomolar sensitivity and single-base resolution; however, its operation is hindered in complex media, particularly in protein-rich environments. However, this weakness is also shared with the electrochemical approach. Our comparative analysis highlights the complementary strengths of these platforms, suggesting that integrating both could improve point-of-care cancer screening by combining sensitivity, specificity, and robustness in complex samples. Atlanta Publishing House LLC 2026-06-30 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion application/pdf https://www.eurjchem.com/index.php/eurjchem/article/view/2748 10.5155/eurjchem.17.2.89-98.2748 European Journal of Chemistry; Vol. 17 No. 2 (2026): June 2026; 89-98 2153-2257 2153-2249 eng https://www.eurjchem.com/index.php/eurjchem/article/view/2748/3029 Copyright (c) 2026 Ajoke Williams, Keshani Gayathri Gunasinghe Pattiya Arachchillage, Subrata Chandra, Juan Manuel Artes Vivancos https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0