Cost-effective disposable electrodes were fabricated from copper clad laminate, usually used for printed circuit board (PCB) in electronic industries, by using dry film photoresist. Electro-oxidation (anodisation) was employed to obtain a good formation of thiourea film on the electrode surface. The affinity binding pair of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and anti-carcinoembryonic antigen (anti-CEA) was used as a model system. Anti-CEA was immobilized on thiourea film via covalent coupling. This modified electrode was incorporated with a capacitive system for CEA analysis. This capacitive immunosensor provided a linear range between 0.01 and 10 ng ml(-1) with a detection limit of 10 pg ml(-1). When applied to analyze CEA in serum samples, the results agreed well with the enzyme linked fluorescent assay (ELFA) technique (P>0.05). The proposed strategy for the preparation of disposable modified copper electrode is very cost effective and simple. Moreover, it provides good reproducibility. This technique can easily be applied to mmobilize other biological sensing elements for biosensors development. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.