Electrochemical immunosensor designs for the determination of Staphylococcus aureus using 3,3-dithiodipropionic acid di(N-succinimidyl ester)-modified gold electrodes

The preparation of novel Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) amperometric immunosensing designs based on the covalent immobilization of RbIgG at gold electrodes using the heterobifunctional cross-linker 3,3-dithiodipropionic acid di(N-succinimidyl ester) (DTSP), are reported. Two different competitive immunosensing configurations have been tested and compared. In the first one, protein A-bearing S. aureus cells and HRP-labelled antiRbIgG compete for immobilized RbIgG binding sites, while in the second case HRP-labelled protein A was used. In both cases, the evaluation of the developed immunosensors performance was accomplished through the monitoring at 0.00 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) of the catalytic current originated after addition of hydrogen peroxide, using tetrathiafulvalene as redox mediator entrapped at the modified electrode surface by cross-linking with glutaraldehyde. Optimization of variables concerning the composition of the immunosensors as well as the detection conditions was carried out in 0.1 M NaAc/0.1 M NaCl buffer of pH 5.6. The configuration that employed antiRbIgG-HRP resulted in better analytical characteristics, with a detection limit of 1.4 × 10⁴ cells mL⁻¹ for S. aureus cells submitted to wall lyses by ultrasonic treatment. This immunosensor design was also evaluated using gold screen-printed electrodes in order to reduce the analysis time and cost. In this case, a limit of detection of 3.7 × 10² cells mL⁻¹ and a dynamic range from 1.3 × 10³ to 7.6 × 10⁴ cells mL⁻¹ was obtained. A RSD value of 10.5% was found for the responses to 9.6 × 10³S. aureus cells mL⁻¹ obtained with seven different Au/SPEs-immunosensors. These disposable immunosensors were applied to the quantification of S. aureus in milk spiked at two concentration levels, 1.2 × 10³ and 4.8 × 10³ cells mL⁻¹, with good recoveries.     

Electrogenerated chemiluminescence biosensing for the detection of prostate PC-3 cancer cells incorporating antibody as capture probe and ruthenium complex-labelled wheat germ agglutinin as signal probe

A highly selective and sensitive electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor for the detection of prostate PC-3 cancer cells was designed using a prostate specific antibody as a capture probe and ruthenium complex-labelled wheat germ agglutinin as a signal probe. The ECL biosensor was fabricated by covalently immobilising the capture probe on a graphene oxide-coated glassy carbon electrode. Target PC-3 cells were selectively captured on the surface of the biosensor, and then, the signal probe was bound with the captured PC-3 cells to form a sandwich. In the presence of tripropylamine, the ECL intensity of the sandwich biosensor was logarithmically directly proportion to the concentration of PC-3 cells over a range from 7.0 × 10² to 3.0 × 10⁴ cells mL⁻¹, with a detection limit of 2.6 × 10² cells mL⁻¹. The ECL biosensor was also applied to detect prostate specific antigen with a detection limit of 0.1 ng mL⁻¹. The high selectivity of the biosensor was demonstrated in comparison with that of a lectin-based biosensor. The strategy developed in this study may be a promising approach and could be extended to the design of ECL biosensors for highly sensitive and selective detection of other cancer-related cells or cancer biomarkers using different probes.     

A sensitive electrochemiluminescence cytosensor for quantitative evaluation of epidermal growth factor receptor expressed on cell surfaces

A sensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) strategy for evaluating the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression level on cell surfaces was designed by integrating the specific recognition of EGFR expressed on MCF-7 cell surfaces with an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-funtionalized CdS quantum dots (CdSQDs)-capped magnetic bead (MB) probe. The high sensitivity of ECL probe of EGF-funtionalized CdSQD-capped-MB was used for competitive recognition with EGFR expressed on cell surfaces with recombinant EGFR protein. The changes of ECL intensity depended on both the cell number and the expression level of EGFR receptor on cell surfaces. A wide linear response to cells ranging from 80 to 4 × 10⁶ cells mL⁻¹ with a detection limit of 40 cells mL⁻¹ was obtained. The EGF-cytosensor was used to evaluate EGFR expression levels on MCF-7 cells, and the average number of EGFR receptor on single MCF-7 cells was 1.35 × 10⁵ with the relative standard deviation of 4.3%. This strategy was further used for in-situ and real-time evaluating EGFR receptor expressed on cell surfaces in response to drugs stimulation at different concentration and incubation time. The proposed method provided potential applications in the detection of receptors on cancer cells and anticancer drugs screening.     

Droplet electrochemical study of the pH dependent redox behavior of novel ferrocenyl-carborane derivatives and its application in specific cancer cell recognition

Novel ferrocenyl based carboranes (FcCBs) and their distinguish behavior for cancer cell recognition have been explored in this contribution. The voltammetric study in a droplet of 10 μL placed on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode demonstrates the excellent electrochemical behavior of FcCBs, which could be further exploited for establishing the promising and sensitive biosensors. The FcCBs’ redox behavior is examined in a wide pH range, and square wave voltammetry revealed the reversible and irreversible nature of first and second anodic peaks. The obvious shifts in peak potentials corresponding with the change of pH values demonstrate the abstraction of electrons to be accompanied with the transfer of protons. By using the droplet electrochemical technique, FcCBs can be employed to distinguish normal and cancer cells with a linear range from 1.0 × 10³ to 3.0 × 10⁴ cells mL⁻¹ and the limit of detection at 800 cells mL⁻¹. The novel carborane derivatives could be utilized as important potential molecular probes for specific recognition of cancer cells like leukemia cells from normal cells.     

An aptasensor for sensitive detection of human breast cancer cells by using porous GO/Au composites and porous PtFe alloy as effective sensing platform and signal amplification labels

A novel aptamer biosensor for cancer cell assay has been reported on the basis of ultrasensitive electrochemical detection. The assay uses the aptamer as a capture probe to recognize and bind the tumor marker on the surface of the cancer cells, forming an aptamer-based sandwich structure for MCF-7 cells detection. Functionalized nanoporous materials, porous graphene oxide/Au composites (GO/Au composites) and porous PtFe alloy have been introduced into the biosensor. Owing to the large surface area and versatile porous structure, the use of nanoporous materials can significantly improve the analysis performance of the biosensors by loading of large amounts of molecules and accelerating diffusion rate. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the proposed aptamer biosensor exhibited excellent analytical performance for MCF-7 cells determination, ranging from 100 to 5.0 × 10⁷ cells mL⁻¹ with the detection limit of 38 cells mL⁻¹. The biosensor showed good selectivity, acceptable stability and reproducibility, and developed a highly sensitive and selective method for cancer cells detection.     

Aptamer based strategy for cytosensing and evaluation of HER-3 on the surface of MCF-7 cells by using the signal amplification of nucleic acid-functionalized nanocrystals

The electrochemical detection of cell lines of MCF-7 (human breast cancer) has been reported, using magnetic beads for the separation tool and high-affinity DNA aptamers for signal recognition. The high specificity was obtained by using the magnetic beads and aptamers, and the good sensitivity was realized with the signal amplification of DNA capped CdS or PbS nanocrystals. The ASV (anodic stripping voltammetry) technology was employed for the detection of cadmic cation and lead ions, for electrochemical assay of the amount of the target cells and biomarkers on the membrane of target cells, respectively. This electrochemical method could respond to as low as 100 cells mL⁻¹ of cancer cells with a linear calibration range from 1.0 × 10² to 1.0 × 10⁶ cells mL⁻¹, showing very high sensitivity. Moreover, the amounts of HER-3 which were overexpressed on MCF-7 cells were calculated correspond to be 3.56 × 10⁴ anti-HER-3 antibody molecules. In addition, the assay was able to differentiate between different types of target and control cells based on the aptamers and magnetic beads used in the assay, indicating the wide applicability of the assay for early and accurate diagnose of cancers.     

Determination of indole-3-acetic acid and indole-3-butyric acid in mung bean sprouts using high performance liquid chromatography with immobilized Ru(bpy)3-KMnO4 chemiluminescence detection

A novel method for determination of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) in an extract from mung bean sprouts using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with chemiluminescence (CL) detection is described. The method is based on the CL reaction of auxin (indole-3-acetic acid and indole-3-butyric acid) with acidic potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) and tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II), which was immobilized on the cationic ion-exchange resin. The chromatographic separation was performed on a Nucleosil RP-C18 column (i.d.: 250 mm × 4.6 mm, particle size: 5 μm, pore size: 100) with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of methanol-water-acetic acid (45:55:1, v/v/v). At a flow rate of 1.0 mL min⁻¹, the total run time was 20 min. Under the optimal conditions, the linear ranges were 5.0 × 10⁻⁸ to 5.0 × 10⁻⁶ g mL⁻¹ and 5.0 × 10⁻⁷ to 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ g mL⁻¹ for IAA and IBA, respectively. The detection limits were 2.0 × 10⁻⁸ g mL⁻¹ and 2.0 × 10⁻⁷ g mL⁻¹ for IAA and IBA, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of intra-day were 3.1% and 2.3% (n = 11) for 2 × 10⁻⁶ g mL⁻¹ IAA and 2 × 10⁻⁶ g mL⁻¹ IBA; The relative standard deviations of inter-day precision were 6.9% and 4.9% for 2 × 10⁻⁶ g mL⁻¹ IAA and 2 × 10⁻⁶ g mL⁻¹ IBA. The proposed method had been successfully applied to the determination of auxin in mung bean sprouts.     

Aptamer-quantum dots conjugates-based ultrasensitive competitive electrochemical cytosensor for the detection of tumor cell

A novel competitive electrochemical cytosensor was reported by using aptamer (Apt)-quantum dots (Qdots) conjugates as a platform for tumor cell recognition and detection. The complementary DNA (cDNA), aptamer and Qdots could be assembled to the gold electrode surface. When the target cells existed, they could compete with cDNA to bind with Apt-Qdots conjugates based on the specific recognition of aptamer to MUC1 protein overexpressed on the cell surface, which resulted in the denaturation of double-stranded DNA structure and the release of the Apt-Qdots conjugates from the electrode. Electrochemical stripping measurement was then employed to determine the Cd²⁺ concentration in Qdots left at the electrode. The peak current was inversely proportional to the logarithmic value of cell concentration ranging from 1.0 × 10² to 1.0 × 10⁶ cells mL⁻¹ with a detection limit of 100 cells mL⁻¹. Meanwhile, the recognition of aptamer to the target cells could be clearly observed through the strong fluorescence from Qdots. This is an example of the combination of aptamer and nanoparticles for the application of cell analysis, which is essential to cancer diagnosis and therapy.     

Biomimetic enhanced chemiluminescence of luminol-H2O2 system by manganese (III) deuteroporphyrin and its application in flow injection determination of phenol at trace level

A novel, sensitive and high selective flow-injection chemiluminescence (FI-CL) method for the determination of phenol is reported, based upon its decreasing effect on the CL reaction of luminol with hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by manganese (III) deuteroporphyrin [MnDP, Scheme 1, 3] in alkaline solution. Under the selected optimized experimental conditions, the relative CL intensity was linear with phenol in the range of 4.0 × 10⁻⁹ to 4.0 × 10⁻⁷ g mL⁻¹. The detection limit (3σ) was 6.3 × 10⁻¹⁰ g mL⁻¹ and the relative standard deviation for 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ g mL⁻¹ phenol (n = 11) was 2.99%. The regression equation was I = 120.79 + 1.14 × 1010c (R = 0.9936). This method has been applied to the determination of phenol in water with satisfactory results.     

Investigation on enhanced chemiluminescence reaction systems with bis(hydrogenperiodato) argentate(III) complex anion for fluoroquinolones synthetic antibiotics

A novel chemiluminescence (CL) reaction system with bis(hydrogenperiodato) argentate(III) complex anion (Ag(III) complex, [Ag(HIO₆)₂]⁵⁻), for the first time, is developed for the determination of lomefloxacin (LMFX), enrofloxacin (ENLX) and pefloxacin (PFLX). The possible CL emission mechanism was discussed by comparing the fluorescence emission with CL spectra. The CL conditions of [Ag(HIO₆)₂]⁵⁻-H₂SO₄-LMFX/ENLX/PFLX systems were investigated and optimized. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the CL intensity is proportional to the concentration of the drugs in the range 0.2994-36.80 × 10⁻⁷ g mL⁻¹ for LMFX, 4.00-30.0 × 10⁻⁷ g mL⁻¹ for ENLX and 1.54-27.64 × 10⁻⁷ g mL⁻¹ for PFLX. The limit of detection (s/n = 3) was 9.1 × 10⁻⁹ g mL⁻¹ for LMFX, 3.1 × 10⁻⁹ g mL⁻¹ for ENLX and 4.4 × 10⁻⁹ g mL⁻¹ for PFLX. The recovery of LMFX, ENLX and PELX from the spiked pharmaceutical preparations was in the range of 92.3-105% with the RSDs of 0.5-2.7%. For urine, serum and milk samples the recoveries of the three drugs were in the range of 85.1-107% for LMFX with the RSDs of 2.3-3.4%. 80.2-112% for ENLX with the RSDs of 1.4-2.8%, and 87.8-114% for PFLX with the RSDs of 1.6-2.7%. The proposed method was applied successfully to the determination of these compounds in real samples.     

Determination of naproxen in human urine by high-performance liquid chromatography with direct electrogenerated chemiluminescence detection

A simple and sensitive liquid chromatographic method coupled with electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) was described for the separation and quantification of naproxen in human urine. The method was based on the ECL of naproxen in basic NaNO₃ solution with a dual-electrode system. Factors affected the ECL emission were investigated. Under the optimal conditions, the ECL intensity has a linear relationship with the concentration of naproxen in the range of 4.0 × 10⁻⁸ g mL⁻¹ to 2.0 × 10⁻⁶ g mL⁻¹ and the detection limit was 1.6 × 10⁻⁸ g mL⁻¹ (S/N = 3). Application of the method to the analyses of naproxen in human urine proved feasible.     

Study on the interaction of nucleic acids with silver nanoparticles—Al(III) by resonance light scattering technique and its analytical application

It is found that Al(III) can further enhance the intensity of resonance light scattering (RLS) of the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and nucleic acids system. Based on this, a novel method of determination of nucleic acids is proposed in this paper. Under optimum conditions, there are linear relationships between the enhancing extent of RLS and the concentration of nucleic acids in the range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁹-1.0 × 10⁻⁷ g mL⁻¹, 1.0 × 10⁻⁷-2.0 × 10⁻⁶ g mL⁻¹ for fish sperm DNA (fsDNA), 1.0 × 10⁻⁹-7.0 × 10⁻⁸ g mL⁻¹ for calf thymus DNA (ctDNA) and 1.0 × 10⁻⁹-1.0 × 10⁻⁷ g mL⁻¹ for yeast RNA (yRNA). The detection limits (S/N = 3) of fsDNA, ctDNA and yRNA are 4.1 × 10⁻¹⁰ g mL⁻¹, 4.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ g mL⁻¹ and 4.5 × 10⁻¹⁰ g mL⁻¹, respectively. The studies indicate that the RLS enhancement effect should be ascribed to the formation of AgNPs-Al(III)-DNA aggregations through electrostatic attraction and adsorption bridging action of Al(III). And the sensitivity and stability of the AgNPs-fsDNA system could be enhanced by Al(III).     

A novel sensing platform using aptamer and RNA polymerase-based amplification for detection of cancer cells

Cancer is one of the most serious and lethal diseases around the world. Its early detection has become a challenging goal. To address this challenge, we developed a novel sensing platform using aptamer and RNA polymerase-based amplification for the detection of cancer cells. The assay uses the aptamer as a capture probe to recognize and bind the tumor marker on the surface of the cancer cells, forming an aptamer-based sandwich structure for collection of the cells in the microplate wells, and uses SYBR Green II dye as a tracer to produce strong fluorescence signal. The tumor marker interacts first with the recognition probes which were composed of the aptamer and single-stranded T7 RNA polymerase promoter. Then, the recognition probe hybridized with template probes to form a double-stranded T7 RNA polymerase promoter. This dsDNA region is extensively transcribed by T7 RNA polymerase to produce large amounts of RNAs, which are easily monitored using the SYBR Green II dye and a standard fluorometer, resulting in the amplification of the fluorescence signal. Using MCF-7 breast cancer cell as the model cell, the present sensing platform showed a linear range from 5.0 × 10² to 5.0 × 10⁶ cells mL⁻¹ with a detection limit of 5.0 × 10² cells mL⁻¹. This work suggested a strategy to use RNA signal amplification combining aptamer recognition to develop a highly sensitive and selective method for cancer cells detection.     

Fluorescence enhancement of CdTe/CdS quantum dots by coupling of glyphosate and its application for sensitive detection of copper ion

A novel fluorescent probe for Cu²⁺ determination based on the fluorescence quenching of glyphosate (Glyp)-functionalized quantum dots (QDs) was firstly reported. Glyp had been used to modify the surface of QDs to form Glyp-functionalized QDs following the capping of thioglycolic acid on the core–shell CdTe/CdS QDs. Under the optimal conditions, the response was linearly proportional to the concentration of Cu²⁺ between 2.4 × 10⁻² μg mL⁻¹ and 28 μg mL⁻¹, with a detection limit of 1.3 × 10⁻³ μg mL⁻¹ (3δ). The Glyp-functionalized QDs fluorescent probe offers good sensitivity and selectivity for detecting Cu²⁺. The fluorescent probe was successfully used for the determination of Cu²⁺ in environmental samples. The mechanism of reaction was also discussed.     

An ultrasensitive post chemiluminescence reaction of ammonium in NBS-dichlorofluorescein system and its application

A strong post chemiluminescence (PCL) phenomenon was observed when ammonium was injected into the reaction mixture after the finish of CL reaction of N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) and dichlorofluorescein. Based on this, a sensitive flow injection PCL method was established for the determination of ammonium. The possible CL mechanism of the reaction was proposed based on a series of experiments. The PCL intensity responded linearly to the concentration of ammonium in the range 3.0 × 10⁻¹¹-1.0 × 10⁻⁷ g mL⁻¹ with a detection limit of 1 × 10⁻¹¹ g mL⁻¹. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) was 1.4% for 1.0 × 10⁻⁹ g mL⁻¹ ammonium (n = 11). This method had been applied to the determination of ammonium in samples of mineral water, tap water and river water.     

Rapid detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 spiked into food matrices

Food poisoning causes untold discomfort to many people each year. One of the primary culprits in food poisoning is Escherichia coli O157:H7. While most cases cause intestinal discomfort, up to 7% of the incidences lead to a severe complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome which may be fatal. The traditional method for detection of E. coli O157:H7 in cases of food poisoning is to culture the food matrices and/or human stool. Additional performance-based antibody methods are also being used. The NRL array biosensor was developed to detect multiple antigens in multiple samples with little sample pretreatment in under 30 min. An assay for the specific detection of E. coli O157:H7 was developed, optimized and tested with a variety of spiked food matrices in this study. With no sample pre-enrichment, 5 × 10³ cells mL⁻¹ were detected in buffer in less than 30 min. Slight losses of sensitivity (1-5 × 10⁻⁴ cell mL⁻¹⁾ but not specificity occur in the presence of high levels of extraneous bacteria and in various food matrices (ground beef, turkey sausage, carcass wash, and apple juice). No significant difference was observed in the detection of E. coli O157:H7 in typical culture media (Luria Broth and Tryptic Soy Broth).     

Amperometric detection of Enterobacteriaceae in river water by measuring β-galactosidase activity at interdigitated microelectrode arrays

Two simple methodologies are compared for the detection of faecal contamination in water using amperometry at gold interdigitated microelectrodes. They rely on the detection of β-galactosidase (β-gal) by redox cycling amperometry of the p-aminophenol (PAP) produced by the enzyme from the 4-aminophenyl β-d-galactopyranoside (PAPG) substrate. The use of phages as specific agents for the release of the bacteria-enclosed enzyme allowed the detection of 6 × 10⁵ CFU mL⁻¹Escherichia coli in 2 h without any pre-enrichment or preconcentration steps. Better limits of detection were achieved for the second strategy in the absence of phages. In this case, bacteria were enriched in the presence of both β-d-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) and substrate but in the absence of phages. Under such experimental conditions, 5 × 10⁴ CFU mL⁻¹E. coli could be detected after 2 h of incubation, while 7 h of incubation were enough to detect down to 10 CFU mL⁻¹ in river water samples. This represents a straightforward one-step method for the detection of faecal contamination that can be conducted in a single working day with minimal sample manipulation by the user.     

Flow injection chemiluminescence determination of nitrofurazone in pharmaceutical preparations and biological fluids based on oxidation by singlet oxygen generated in N-bromosuccinimide-hydrogen peroxide reaction

A simple flow injection chemiluminescence (FI-CL) method was proposed for the determination of nitrofurazone. Strong CL signal was generated during the reaction of nitrofurazone with H₂O₂ and N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) in alkaline condition. The CL signal was proportional to the nitrofurazone concentration in the range 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ to 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ g mL⁻¹. The detection limit was 2 × 10⁻⁸ g mL⁻¹ nitrofurazone and the relative standard deviation was less than 4% (6.0 × 10⁻⁶ g mL⁻¹ nitrofurazone, n = 11). The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of nitrofurazone in compound furacillin nasal drops, human plasma and urine samples. The CL reaction mechanism was also discussed briefly. Singlet oxygen generated in the reaction between H₂O₂ and NBS was suggested to be participated in the CL reaction.     

Flow injection chemiluminescence determination of naproxen based on KMnO4-Na2SO3 reaction in neutral aqueous medium

A simple, rapid and sensitive flow injection chemiluminescence (CL) method is described for the determination of naproxen. It was found that strong CL signal was generated when naproxen was mixed with KMnO₄ and Na₂SO₃ in neutral aqueous medium. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the CL intensity was linearly related to the concentration of naproxen from 4.0 × 10⁻⁹ to 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ g mL⁻¹ (r = 0.9993). The detection limit was 2 × 10⁻⁹ g mL⁻¹ naproxen, the relative standard deviation for 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ g mL⁻¹ naproxen solution was 1.5% (n = 11) and the sampling frequency was 120 h⁻¹. The method was applied to the determination of naproxen in pharmaceutical preparation with satisfactory results. The mechanism of CL reaction was discussed briefly.     

Determination of ketotifen by using calcein as chemiluminescence reagent

Chemiluminescence (CL) was observed when potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) reacted with the mixture of calcein and ketotifen. Interestingly, the CL intensity would be enhanced by trace amounts of Mg²⁺ and the CL intensity was strongly dependent on ketotifen concentration. Based on this phenomenon, a flow injection CL method was established for the determination of ketotifen. The possible CL mechanism is proposed based on the kinetic characteristic of the CL reaction, CL spectrum, ultraviolet (UV) spectra and fluorescent spectra. The CL intensity was correlated linearly with concentration of ketotifen over the range of 6.0 × 10⁻⁹ to 2.0 × 10⁻⁷ g mL⁻¹ and the detection limit was 3 × 10⁻⁹ g mL⁻¹. The relative standard deviation was 1.8% for 2.0 × 10⁻⁸ g mL⁻¹ ketotifen (n = 11). This method was applied to the determination of ketotifen in the tablets successfully.