# Reagentless Sensor Technologies For Continuous Monitoring of Heart Failure Biomarkers

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2023 · $769,745

## Abstract

Project Summary:
Heart failure affects approximately twenty-six million people globally and represents a major economic and
societal burden. This includes more than six million adults in the United States alone, a number that is predicted
to rise by 46% over the next 15 years. Heart failure is a progressive condition characterized by recurrent
exacerbations. Prior work indicates that biomarker monitoring can aid in the assessment of risk and provide
meaningful data in management of the disease. But in order to allow this to be done on a continuous basis, self-
regenerating sensors that can dynamically and continuously detect biomolecular species as a wearable system
remain an unmet need. One major challenge to fully realize these systems is the development of platforms that
allow for reagent-free analysis of complex biomolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, and metabolites in real
time.
We recently developed the first reagentless sensor that can be adapted to any protein and demonstrated the
ability to perform continuous monitoring in vivo using an implantable sensor array. In this project, we will adapt
our technology for markers of heart failure to provide a new approach for remote monitoring of at-risk heart
failure patients. The technology that enables this is a recently developed an enzyme-free and regent-free
electrochemical reporter system that exhibits levels of sensitivity suitable for analysis of biological samples
without the need for pre-processing. Electrochemical sensors are a powerful platform for environmental or
biological monitoring based on inexpensive instrumentation and straightforward measurements of electrical
currents.
In the proposed project we will integrate these electrochemical sensors into biocompatible probes for in situ
biochemical monitoring. We will test the sensors for sensitive and robust detection of a panel markers identified
to be clinical indicators of cardiac health. Subsequently we will engineer these probes into a wearable platform
capable of continuous monitoring of biomarkers present in the interstitial fluid. Requisite hardware and software
for controlling the wearable monitoring device will be developed and tested in the project and automated analysis
will be validated in an animal model of heart failure. The project deliverables will include first-in class biomarker
monitoring systems with the potential to have a large impact on the American population by providing continual
biomarker monitoring in healthcare for chronic conditions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10636089
- **Project number:** 1R01HL165002-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** IGOR R EFIMOV
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $769,745
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-04-20 → 2027-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10636089

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10636089, Reagentless Sensor Technologies For Continuous Monitoring of Heart Failure Biomarkers (1R01HL165002-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10636089. Licensed CC0.

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