Electrochemical Signal‐triggered Release of Biomolecules Functionalized with His‐tag Units

His‐tagged molecular species, a ferrocene derivative and Protein A, were immobilized on electrode surfaces (Au and graphite) through formation of a chelated complex in the presence of Cu²⁺ cations used as bridging units. The complex was cleaved and the attached molecules were released from the electrode surface by applying reductive potential to the electrodes resulting in Cu²⁺ reduction, thus decomposing the chelate complex. The molecule release process was followed by cyclic voltammetry in case of the ferrocene derivative. His‐tagged Protein A was additionally labeled with a fluorescent tag and its release was followed by fluorescence measurements in the solution and by impedance spectroscopy at the electrode. The studied release of the His‐tagged redox species and biomolecules was considered as a new generic approach to the signal‐controlled molecule release applicable in various biotechnological and biomedical applications.     

Measurement of Signal‐to‐Noise Ratio In Graphene‐based Passive Microelectrode Arrays

This work aims to investigate the influence of various electrode materials on the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) of passive microelectrode arrays (MEAs) intended for use in neural interfaces. Noise reduction substantially improves the performance of systems which electrically interface with extracellular solutions. The MEAs are fabricated using gold, indium tin oxide (ITO), inkjet printed (IJP) graphene, and chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene. 3D‐printed Nylon reservoirs are adhered to glass substrates with identical MEA patterns and filled with neuronal cell culture media. To precisely control the electrode area and minimize the parasitic coupling of metal interconnects and solution, SU‐8 photoresist is patterned to expose only the area of the electrode to solution and cap the remainder of the sample. Voltage signals with varying amplitude and frequencies are applied to the solution using glass micropipettes, and the response is measured on an oscilloscope from a microprobe placed on the contact pad external to the reservoir. The time domain response signal is transformed into a frequency spectrum, and SNR is calculated. As the magnitude or the frequency of the input signal gets larger, a significantly increased signal‐to‐noise ratio was observed in CVD graphene MEAs compared to others. This result indicates that 2‐dimensional nanomaterials such as graphene can provide better signal integrity and potentially lead to improved performance in hybrid neural interface systems.     

Signal‐responsive gating of porous membranes by polymer brushes

Various types of signal‐responsive polymers were grafted on surfaces of porous membranes as polymer brushes. The grafted polymers shrank and extended in response to environmental signals, such as pH, ionic strength, temperature, redox reaction and photo‐irradiation. The pore size was regulated by the extent of the polymer brush. The phenomenon was observed in situ by atomic force microscopy. As a result, the substance permeation through the porous membrane was controlled in response to the signals. The permeation control was rapid in comparison with hygrogel‐type membranes, and was reversibly performed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Signal‐Passing DNA‐Strand‐Exchange Mechanism for Active Self‐Assembly of DNA Nanostructures

DNA nanostructured tiles play an active role in their own self‐assembly in the system described herein whereby they initiate a binding event that produces a cascading assembly process. We present DNA tiles that have a simple but powerful property: they respond to a binding event at one end of the tile by passing a signal across the tile to activate a binding site at the other end. This action allows sequential, virtually irreversible self‐assembly of tiles and enables local communication during the self‐assembly process. This localized signal‐passing mechanism provides a new element of control for autonomous self‐assembly of DNA nanostructures.     

Specific Detection and Imaging of Enzyme Activity by Signal‐Amplifiable Self‐Assembling 19F MRI Probes

Specific turn‐on detection of enzyme activities is of fundamental importance in drug discovery research, as well as medical diagnostics. Although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is one of the most powerful techniques for noninvasive visualization of enzyme activity, both in vivo and ex vivo, promising strategies for imaging specific enzymes with high contrast have been very limited to date. We report herein a novel signal‐amplifiable self‐assembling ¹⁹F NMR/MRI probe for turn‐on detection and imaging of specific enzymatic activity. In NMR spectroscopy, these designed probes are “silent” when aggregated, but exhibit a disassembly driven turn‐on signal change upon cleavage of the substrate part by the catalytic enzyme. Using these ¹⁹F probes, nanomolar levels of two different target enzymes, nitroreductase (NTR) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), could be detected and visualized by ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy and MRI. Furthermore, we have succeeded in imaging the activity of endogenously secreted MMP in cultured media of tumor cells by ¹⁹F MRI, depending on the cell lines and the cellular conditions. These results clearly demonstrate that our turn‐on ¹⁹F probes may serve as a screening platform for the activity of MMPs.     

Signal‐Enhanced Amperometric Immunosensor Based on Ferrocene‐Branched Poly(allylamine)/Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Redox‐Active Composite

A signal‐enhanced immunosensor has been developed by self‐assembling Au NPs onto a ferrocene‐branched poly(allylamine)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PAA‐Fc/MWNTs) modified electrode for the sensitive determination of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) as a model protein. The formation of PAA‐Fc/MWNTs composite not only effectively avoided the leakage of Fc and retained its electrochemical activity, but also enhanced the conductivity and charge‐transport properties of the composite. Further adsorption of Au NPs into the PAA matrix provided both the interactive sites for the immobilization of hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) and a favorable microenvironment to maintain its activity. Tests performed with this immunosensor showed a specific response to HBsAg in the range of 0.1–350.0 ng mL^?1 with a detection limit of 0.03 ng mL^?1.     

The Signal‐Enhanced Label‐Free Immunosensor Based on Assembly of Prussian Blue‐SiO2 Nanocomposite for Amperometric Measurement of Neuron‐Specific Enolase

A signal‐enhanced label‐free electrochemical immunosensor was constructed by the employment of Prussian blue doped silica dioxide (PB‐SiO₂) nanocomposite. At first, PB‐SiO₂ nanocomposite which was produced by using a microemulsion method was used to obtain a nanostructural monolayer on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface. Next amino‐functionalized interface were prepared by self‐assembling 3‐aminopropyltriethoxy silane (APTES) on the PB‐SiO₂ nanoparticle surface. Then chitosan stabled gold nanoparticle (CS‐nanoAu) was subsequently attached, while the entire surface was finally loaded with neuron‐specific enolase antibody (anti‐NSE) via the adsorption of gold nanoparticle. The sensitivity of the proposed immunosensor has greatly improved as the PB‐SiO₂ nanostructural sensing film provides plenty of active sites which might catalyze the reduction of H₂O₂. The immunosensor exhibited good linear behavior in the concentration range from 0.25–5.0 and 5.0–75 ng/mL for the quantitative analysis of neuron‐specific enolase (NSE), a putative serum marker of small‐cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), with a limit of detection of 0.08 ng/mL. The resulting NSE immunosensor showed high sensitivity and long‐term lifetime which can be attributed to the extremely high catalytic activity and biocompatibility of CS‐nanoAu/APTES/PB‐SiO₂ nanostructural multilayers.     

Fluorescence Logic‐Signal‐Based Multiplex Detection of Nucleases with the Assembly of a Cationic Conjugated Polymer and Branched DNA

An energy‐transfer cascade is generated from a cationic conjugated polymer (PFP) and negatively charged, Y‐shaped DNA labeled with three dyes at its termini (fluorescein (Fl), Tex Red, and Cy5). Multistep fluorescence resonance energy transfer regulates the fluorescence intensities of PFP and the dyes. Different types of logic gates can be operated by observing the emission wavelengths of different dyes with multiplex nucleases as inputs.

     

A Signal‐Amplified Electrochemical Immunosensor Based on Prussian Blue and Pt Hollow Nanospheres as Matrix

Through electrodepositing Prussian blue (PB) and chitosan (CS), then casting Pt hollow nanospheres (HN‐Pt) and assembling CA19‐9 antibody on the electrode surface, an immunosensor was achieved. A new signal amplification strategy based on PB and HN‐Pt toward the electrocatalytic reduction of H₂O₂ was employed when performing the determination. The resulting immunosensor showed a high sensitivity, broad linear response to carbohydrate antigen 19‐9 (CA19‐9) in two ranges from 0.5 to 30 and 30 to 240 U mL^?1 with a low detection limit of 0.13 U mL^?1 (S/N=3). Moreover, it displayed good reproducibility and stability, and would be potentially attractive for clinical immunoassay of CA19‐9.     

Engineered Nanomaterial Assisted Signal‐amplification Strategies for Enhancing Analytical Performance of Electrochemical Biosensors

The design and development of modern biosensors for sensitive and selective detection of various biomarkers is important in diversified arenas including healthcare, environment, and food industries etc. The requirement of more robust and reliant biosensors lead to the development of various sensing modules. The nanomaterials having specific optical, electrical, and mechanical strength can pave the way towards development of ultrafast, robust, and miniaturized modules for biosensors. It can provide not only the point‐of‐care applicability but also has tremendous commercial as well as industrial justification. In order to improve the performance of the sensor systems, various nanostructure materials have been readily studied and applied for development of novel biosensors. In the last few years, researchers are engaged on harnessing the unique atomic and molecular properties of advance‐engineered materials including carbon nanotubes, graphene nanosheets, metal nanoparticles, metal oxide nanoparticles, and their nano‐conjugates. In view of such recent developments in nanomaterial engineering, the current review has been formulated emphasizing the role of these materials in surface engineering, biomolecule conjugation, and signal amplification for development of various ultrasensitive and robust biosensors having commercial as well as industrial viability. Attention is given on the electrochemical biosensors incorporating various nanomaterials and their conjugates. Importance of nanomaterials in the analytical performance of the various biosensor has also been discussed. To put a perceptive insights on the importance of various nanomaterials, an extended table is incorporated, which includes probe design, analyte, LOD, and dynamic range of various electrochemical biosensors.     

Signal‐Induced Release of Guests from a Photolatent Metal–Phenolic Supramolecular Cage and Its Hybrid Assemblies

The coordination chemistry of plant polyphenols and metal ions can be used for coating various substrates and for creating modular superstructures. We herein explored this chemistry for the controlled release of guests from mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs). The selective adsorption of tannic acids (TAs) on MSN silica walls opens the MSN mesoporous channels without disturbing mass transport. The channel may be closed by the coordination of TA with Cu^II ions. Upon exposure to light, photolysis of Trojan horse guests (photoacid generators, PAGs) leads to acid generation, which enables the release of payloads by decomposing the outer coordination shell consisting of TA and Cu^II. We also fabricated a modular assembly of MSNs on glass substrates. The photoresponsive release characteristics of the resulting film are similar to those of the individual MSNs. This method is a fast and facile strategy for producing photoresponsive nanocontainers by non‐covalent engineering of MSN surfaces that should be suitable for various applications in materials science.     

Ultrasensitive and Signal‐on Electrochemiluminescence Aptasensor Using the Multi‐tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II)‐β‐cyclodextrin Complexes

An ultrasensitive and signal‐on electrochemiluminescence (ECL) aptasensor to detect target protein (thrombin or lysozyme) was developed using the host‐guest recognition between a metallocyclodextrin complex and single‐stranded DNA (ss‐DNA). The aptasensor uses both the photoactive properties of the metallocyclodextrins named multi‐tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II)‐β‐cyclodextrin complexes and their specific recognition with ss‐DNA, which amplified the ECL signal without luminophore labeling. After investigating the ECL performance of different multi‐tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II)‐β‐cyclodextrin (multi‐Ru‐β‐CD) complexes, tris‐tris(bipyridine)‐ruthenium(II)‐β‐cyclodextrin (tris(bpyRu)‐β‐CD) was selected as a suitable host molecule to construct an atasensor. First, double‐stranded DNA (ds‐DNA) formed by hybridization of the aptamer and its target DNA was attached to a glassy carbon electrode via coupling interaction, which showed low ECL intensity with 2‐(dibutylamino) ethanol (DBAE) as coreactant, because of the weak recognition between ds‐DNA and tris(bpyRu)‐β‐CD. Upon addition of the corresponding protein, the ECL intensity increased when target ss‐DNA was released because of the higher stability of the aptamer‐protein complex than the aptamer‐DNA one. A linear relationship was observed in the range of 0.01 pmol/L to 100 pmol/L between ECL intensity and the logarithm of thrombin concentrations with a limited detection of 8.5 fmol/L (S/N=3). Meanwhile, the measured concentration of lysozyme was from 0.05 pmol/L to 500 pmol/L and the detection limit was 33 fmol/L (S/N=3). The investigations of proteins in human serum samples were also performed to demonstrate the validity of detection in real clinical samples. The simplicity, high sensitivity and specificity of this aptasensor show great promise for practical applications in protein monitoring and disease diagnosis.     

A New Signal‐On Photoelectrochemical Biosensor Based on a Graphene/Quantum‐Dot Nanocomposite Amplified by the Dual‐Quenched Effect of Bipyridinium Relay and AuNPs

A new photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensor was developed by using carboxyl‐functionalized graphene and CdSe nanoparticles. This sensitive interface was then successfully applied to detection of thrombin based on the dual‐quenched effect of PEC nanoparticle, which relied on the electron transfer of a bipyridinium relay and energy transfer of AuNPs. After recognition with an aptamer, the PEC nanoparticle was removed and a signal‐on PEC biosensor was obtained. Moreover, the bio‐barcode technique used in the preparation of PEC nanoparticle could avoid cross‐reaction and enhances the sensitivity. Taking advantages of the various methods mentioned above, the sensitivity could be easily enhanced. In addition, in this work we also investigated graphene that was modified with different functional groups and AuNPs of different particle sizes. Under optimal conditions, a detection limit of 5.9×10^?15 M was achieved. With its simplicity, selectivity, and sensitivity, this strategy shows great promise for the fabrication of highly efficient PEC biosensors.     

FeS2−AuNPs Nanocomposite as Mimicking Enzyme for Constructing Signal‐off Sandwich‐type Electrochemical Immunosensor Based on Electroactive Nickel Hexacyanoferrate as Matrix

In this work, a novel sandwich‐type electrochemical immunosensor with electroactive nickel hexacyanoferrate nanoparticles (NiHCFNPs) as matrix was constructed for α‐fetoprotein (AFP) detection in a signal‐off manner by using FeS₂?AuNPs nanocomposite catalyzed insoluble precipitation to significantly inhibit the electrochemical signal. Initially, the NiHCFNPs with excellent electrochemical property was modified on the electrodeposited nano‐Au electrode to obtain a strong initial electrochemical signal. Subsequently, another nano‐Au layer was formed for immobilization of capture antibody (Ab₁). In the presence of target AFP, the prepared FeS₂?AuNPs‐Ab₂ bioconjugate could be specifically recognized and immobilized on electrode through the sandwich‐type immunoreaction. The FeS₂ with large specific surface areas were used as scaffolds to load abundant mimicking enzyme AuNPs. With the help of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), FeS₂?AuNPs with peroxidase‐like activity accelerated the 4‐chloro‐1‐naphthol (4‐CN) oxidation with generation of insoluble precipitation on electrode, which would greatly hinder the electron transfer and thus caused the decrease of electrochemical signal for quantitative determination of AFP. This approach achieved a wide dynamic linear range from 0.0001 to 100 ng mL^?1 with an ultralow limit detection of 0.028 pg mL^?1. Especially, the proposed AFP immunosensor can be applied to detect human serum samples with satisfactory results, indicating a potential application in clinical monitoring of tumor biomarkers.     

A Sandwich‐type Electrochemiluminescence Aptasensor for Thrombin Based on Functional Co‐polymer Electrode Using Ru(bpy)32+ Doped Nanocomposites as Signal‐amplifying Tags

Herein, a signal‐on sandwich‐type electrochemiluminescence (ECL) aptasensor for the detection of thrombin (TB) was proposed. The graphene (GR) doped thionine (TH) was electropolymerized synchronously on the bare glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to form co‐polymer (PTG) electrode. The gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were decorated on the surface of the PTG by in‐situ electrodeposition, and the functional co‐polymer (PTG‐AuNPs) electrode was utilized as sensing interface. Then, TB binding aptamer I (TBA I) as capture probes were modified on the PTG‐AuNPs electrode to capture TB, and Ru(bpy)₃²⁺/silver nanoparticles doped silica core‐shell nanocomposites‐labeled TB binding aptamer II (RuAg/SiO₂NPs@TBA II) were used as signal probes to further bind TB, resulting in a sandwich structure. With the assistant of silica shell and AgNPs, the enrichment and luminous efficiency of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ were significantly improved. Under the synergy of PTG‐AuNPs and RuAg/SiO₂NPs, the ECL signal was dramatically increased. The proposed ECL aptasensor displayed a wide linear range from 2 fM to 2 pM with the detection limit of 1 fM, which is comparable or better than that in reported ECL aptasensors for TB using Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ and its derivatives as the luminescent substance. The excellent sensitivity makes the proposed aptasensor a promising potential in pharmaceutical and clinical analysis.