Development of an "electroptode" immunosensor: indium tin oxide-coated optical fiber tips conjugated with an electropolymerized thin film with conjugated cholera toxin B subunit.

We demonstrate that it is possible to create surface-conductive fiber optics, upon which may be electropolymerized a biotinylated polypyrrole thin film, which may then be used to affinity coat the fiber with molecular recognition probes. This fiber-optic electroconductive surface modification is done by the deposition of a thin layer of indium tin oxide. Thereafter, biotin-pyrrole monomers are electropolymerized onto the conductive metal oxide surface and then exposed to avidin. Avidin-biotin interactions were used to modify the fiber optics with biotin-conjugated cholera toxin B subunit molecules, for the construction of an immunosensor to detect cholera antitoxin antibodies. The biosensor was tested for sensitivity, nonspecificity, and overall practicality.