Abstract
Schistosomiasis comes after malaria as the second most important fatal parasitic disease. In Saudi Arabia Schistosoma mansoni is endemic in Jazan, Bishah, Aseer, Madina, Al-Bahah and Taif. The methods used for diagnosis of schistosomiasis are complex, time-consuming, and require extra instruments and/or need skillful persons; therefore, there is a need for the development of a sensitive easy method. In this study, for the first time, a novel screen-printed immunosensor for detection of S. mansoni antibodies (ABs) was developed. Soluble worm antigens (SWA) were fixed onto the nano-carbon working area of a screen-printed electrode using glutaraldehyde-chitosan cross-linkers. The ability of S. mansoni ABs to bind to the antigen-loaded screen-printed electrode was evaluated by cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry. A calibration curve for S. mansoni ABs binding to the SWA-loaded screen-printed electrode produced a reproducible linear relationship at a concentration ranging between 0.038 to 20 ng/ml. The quantitative response obtained at nano-level amounts of ABs suggests that this method can be used in the future to develop a disposable screen-printed electrode for diagnosis of schistosome infections.