Development of a novel plug-and-play biomarker interrogation platform based on electrochemical biosensing for endometriosis research

Dobrea, Alexandra (2026) Development of a novel plug-and-play biomarker interrogation platform based on electrochemical biosensing for endometriosis research. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Endometriosis is a debilitating disease affecting 1 in 10 of those assigned female at birth worldwide. Yet despite its prevalence, diagnosis currently takes ∼ 9 years from symptom onset and necessitates laparoscopic surgery – an invasive procedure with many limitations. Producing a non-invasive diagnostic modality e.g., based on molecular biomarkers is a priority, but no biomarker has been identified yet as a suitable replacement. Given its systemic nature, a multiplexed panel could provide a better insight into this disease, but that is currently hindered by a lack of tools that can concurrently detect the breadth of biomarkers of relevance to endometriosis in a cost and time effective manner in the community. Electrochemical biosensors provide an attractive avenue over conventional bioanalytical systems, as they are low-cost, mass manufacturable and, importantly, allow detection multiplexing e.g., through fluidic integration.

This thesis aimed to produce a novel biomarker interrogation platform based on lowcost electrochemical biosensors for 2 key targets in endometriosis research: IL-6, an inflammatory cytokine, and cortisol, a small steroidal hormone. An investigation into the integration of a recently discovered cortisol aptamer into an impedimetric sensor highlighted different aspects of the fabrication process that are critical for optimal performance. A set of engineering tools were then produced to enhance the performance of the developed sensors, namely 1) a low-cost, easy-to-implement flow cell to improve accessibility to fluidic solutions within the electrochemistry community, 2) a fully automated platform for standardizing the fabrication of electrochemical biosensors and 3) a new methodology for impedance data fitting based on the Markov chain Monte Carlo method for improving the sensor readout reliability. As such, this work delivers a series of engineering solutions to the field of electrochemical sensing using biomarkers of interest for endometriosis research as the key application, in the hope that it will guide, inspire and facilitate further research into this disease.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Supported by funding from the EPSRC and Tenovus Scotland.
• Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General); T Technology > T Technology (General)
• Colleges/Schools: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering
• Funder's Name: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Tenovus Scotland (TENOVUS)
• Supervisor's Name: Ghannam, Professor Rami, Jimenez, Dr. Melanie and Corrigan, Professor Damion
• Date of Award: 2026
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2026-86172
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 07 Aug 2026 15:46
• Last Modified: 07 Aug 2026 15:50
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.86172
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/86172

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