Development of an Amperometric Immunosensor for the Quantification of Staphylococcus aureus Using Self‐Assembled Monolayer‐Modified Electrodes as Immobilization Platforms

Amperometric immunosensors for the detection and quantification of S. aureus using MPA self‐assembled monolayer modified electrodes for the immobilization of the immunoreagents are reported. Two different immunosensor configurations were compared. A competitive mode, in which protein A‐bearing S. aureus cells and antiRbIgG labeled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) compete for the binding sites of RbIgG immobilized onto the 3‐mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) modified electrode, was evaluated. Moreover, a sandwich configuration in which S. aureus cells were immobilized onto the MPA SAM, and RbIgG and antiRbIgG labeled with HRP were further linked to the electrode surface, was also tested. In both cases, TTF was used as the redox mediator of the HRP reaction with H₂O₂, and it was co‐immobilized onto the MPA‐modified gold electrode. After optimization of the working variables for both configurations, the analytical performance of the amperometric measurements carried out at 0.00 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) showed that the competitive immunosensor exhibited a lower limit of detection (1.6×10⁵ S. aureus cells mL^?1), as well as a better repeatability and reproducibility of the measurements.     

基于酶标抗体和媒介体共吸附于金胶壳聚糖膜的PSA免疫传感器的制备

本文研制了一种用金胶壳聚糖仿生膜来同时固定四甲基联苯胺（TMB）和酶标抗体的新型电化学免疫传感器,用于检测血清肿瘤标志物前列腺特异性抗原（PSA）的含量。固定的TMB作为电子传递媒介体,在扫速小于45 mV/s时,电极表现为一个表面控制过程,而在扫速大于45 mV/s时则表现为一个扩散控制过程。将固定有酶标抗体和TMB的免疫传感器与待测PSA抗原一起培育,在该传感器上形成的免疫复合物通过TMB-H₂O₂-HRP电化学体系进行了测定。在优化实验条件下,PSA的线性检测范围为5-30 ng·mL^-1,检测限为1.0 ng·mL^-1。该PSA免疫传感器制备方法简单,成本低廉,具有较好的稳定性和重现性。     

A membrane-based immunosensor for the analysis of the herbicide isoproturon

A membrane based heterogeneous competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used in this work to develop an immunosensor for the detection of a common herbicide, isoproturon. A screen-printed carbon working electrode with carbon counter and silver–silver chloride pseudo-reference electrode was utilized incorporating a membrane fixed into intimate contact with the working electrode to facilitate signal transduction. The membrane containing an immobilized isoproturon–ovalbumin conjugate was laminated onto the carbon working electrode and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labeled polyclonal antibody was then applied for the competitive assay. Two different amperometric systems, hydroquinone and o-phenylenediamine (OPD) mediation reduction were utilised and the properties of the resultant sensors were compared. A flow injection apparatus was also developed utilising the immunosensor. Limits of detection for isoproturon (LLD₉₀) were found to be as low as 0.84 ng mL⁻¹. The senor was also validated using spiked extracted soil samples and also isoproturon contaminated samples.     

Electrochemical Immunoassay of Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin Based on Its Immobilization in Gold Nanoparticles‐Chitosan Membrane

A human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) doped gold nanoparticles–chitosan membrane was prepared for forming an immunoconjugate of horseradish peroxidase labeled hCG antibody and hCG on glassy carbon electrode. The nanoparticles provided a congenial environment of the adsorbed proteins. Thus, the immobilized HRP‐labeled immunoconjugate showed good enzymatic activity for the oxidation of o‐phenylenediamine by H₂O₂. With a competitive mechanism, an amperometric method for immunoassay of hCG up to 30 mIU mL^?1 with a relatively low detection limit of 0.26 mIU mL^?1 at 3σ was developed. The hCG immunosensor showed good precision, high sensitivity, acceptable stability and reproducibility.     

Amperometric Immunosensor for Rapid Detection of Honeybee Pathogen Melissococcus Plutonius

European foulbrood (EFB) is a honeybee larvae disease caused by a bacterium Melissococcus plutonius. An amperometric immunosensor based on a sandwich assay was developed for rapid point‐of‐care detection of this pathogen. An in‐house made anti‐Melissococcus antibody was immobilized to a gold surface of a screen‐printed sensor via self‐assembled monolayer of cysteamine activated with glutaraldehyde. The direct impedimetric detection of captured microbial cells was tested, however, a better performance was obtained after the formation of sandwich with the peroxidase‐labeled antibody in the amperometric mode. The label‐free assay was limited by higher non‐specific binding. The limit of detection of the immunosensor was 6.6×10⁴ CFU mL^?1 (colony‐forming units) with wide linear range between 10⁵ CFU mL^?1 and 10⁹ CFU mL^?1. The whole analysis was completed within 2 h, which is shorter compared to common laboratory diagnostic tools, such as enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay or polymerase chain reaction. Furthermore, atomic force microscopy was used for confirmation of the bacteria presence on the electrode surface. The developed immunosensor was successfully employed in the analysis of real samples of honeybees and larvae. The achieved results demonstrate the potential of the amperometric immunosensor for practical in‐field diagnosis of EFB, which can prevent infection spreading and connected losses of honeybee colonies.     

An electrochemical magneto immunosensor (EMIS) for the determination of paraquat residues in potato samples

An electrochemical magneto immunosensor for the detection of low concentrations of paraquat (PQ) in food samples has been developed and its performance evaluated in a complex sample such as potato extracts. The immunosensor presented uses immunoreagents specifically developed for the recognition of paraquat, a magnetic graphite–epoxy composite (m-GEC) electrode and biofunctionalized magnetic micro-particles (PQ1-BSAMP) that allow reduction of the potential interferences caused by the matrix components. The amperometric signal is provided by an enzymatic probe prepared by covalently linking an enzyme to the specific antibodies (Ab198-cc-HRP). The use of hydroquinone, as mediator, allows recording of the signal at a low potential, which also contributes to reducing the background noise potentially caused by the sample matrix. The immunocomplexes formed on top of the modified MP are easily captured by the m-GEC, which acts simultaneously as transducer. PQ can be detected at concentrations as low as 0.18?±?0.09 μg L^?1. Combined with an efficient extraction procedure, PQ residues can be directly detected and accurately quantified in potato extracts without additional clean-up or purification steps, with a limit of detection (90 % of the maximum signal) of 2.18?±?2.08 μg kg^?1, far below the maximum residue level (20 μg kg^?1) established by the EC. The immunosensor presented here is suitable for on-site analysis. Combined with the use of magnetic racks, multiple samples can be run simultaneously in a reasonable time.     

Electrochemical Biosensor Based on Nanocomposites Film of Thiol Graphene‐Thiol Chitosan/Nano Gold for the Detection of Carcinoembryonic Antigen

In this paper, a thiol graphene‐thiol chitosan‐gold nanoparticles (thGP‐thCTS‐AuNPs) nanocomposites film with porous structure was fabricated by electrochemically depositing on glassy carbon electrode (GCE), which exhibited good biocompatibility and improved conductivity, to construct immunosensor free label for detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The electrochemical behavior of this immunosensor was investigated by cyclic voltammetry. Under the optimum conditions, the immunosensor revealed a good amperometric response to CEA in two linear ranges (0.3–8.0 ng mL^?1 and 8.0–100 ng mL^?1) with a detection limit of 0.03 ng mL^?1. The results indicated that the immunosensor has the advantages of good selectivity, high sensitivity, and good stability for the determination of CEA.     

基于一维DNA组装磁性纳米探针的夹心型安培免疫传感器研究

采用Fe3O4(核)/ZrO2(壳)纳米磁珠(ZMPs)标记待测物识别抗体,并用HRP酶封闭和DNA链接,建立了一类新型的"珠链状"一维磁性纳米探针制备方法。将甲胎蛋白(AFP)一抗固定于纳米金修饰的玻碳电极表面,构建了免疫电极(GCE?AFP Ab1)。基于该电极和上述合成探针,通过双抗体夹心法测定免疫产物上HRP酶对过氧化脲(CP)氧化对苯二酚反应的催化电流,研制了一类基于一维纳米结构组装的夹心型安培免疫传感器。研究表明:此一维纳米结构探针不仅大大增加了酶在电极表面的富集量,成倍扩增了催化电流,显著提高了传感器的灵敏度,而且易于通过外磁场与背景液可控分离,简化了分析步骤,并提高了结果的重复性。此传感器对AFP检测的线性范围为0.01~25 mg/L;检出限达4 ng/L(3σ),并被用于人血清中痕量AFP的测定,结果满意。     

Disposable Amperometric Immunosensor for the Determination of the E‐Cadherin Tumor Suppressor Protein in Cancer Cells and Human Tissues

This paper describes the results obtained in the development of the first electrochemical immunosensor described to date for the detection of E‐cadherin (E‐cad) protein, a relevant biomarker of prognosis and metastasis in cancer, based on the use of magnetic microcarriers (MBs) and amperometric transduction at screen‐printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs). Thus, the determination of E‐cad protein involved the use of two specific antibodies against this protein (one of them labelled with HRP) in a sandwich configuration onto HOOC‐MBs. The magnetic bioconjugates were captured onto SPCEs and the amperometric transduction was performed using the H₂O₂/hydroquinone (HQ) system. Under optimal conditions, this bioplatform demonstrated a wide linear concentration range (0.50–25 ng mL^?1) and a detection limit as low as 0.16 ng mL^?1, well below the optimal cut‐off level for the E‐cad protein (defined as 10,000 ng mL^?1 for soluble E‐cad levels in serum). The developed sensor also showed a good reproducibility among measurements with seven different sensors constructed in the same manner (RSD, 5.4 %), stability for more than 15 days and good specificity towards other proteins commonly found on biological samples. The applicability of this simple handling bioplatform for the direct determination of this protein in cell lysates with different metastatic potential and extracts from paraffined‐embedded human colorectal cancer tissues of different grade were also demonstrated.     

Electrochemical immunosensor for carcinoembryonic antigen based on antigen immobilization in gold nanoparticles modified chitosan membrane.

A disposable electrochemical immunosensor for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was proposed based on the antigen immobilized in a colloidal gold nanoparticles modified chitosan membrane on the surface of an indium-tin oxide (ITO) electrode. The different membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscope and electrochemical methods. Based on a competitive immunoassay format, the immobilized antigen of the immunosensor was incubated with a horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labeled antibody and sample CEA antigen, and the formed immunoconjugate in the immunosensor was detected by an o-phenylenediamine-H(2)O(2)-HRP electrochemical system. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the electrocatalytic current decreased linearly with the competitive mechanism. CEA could be determined in the linear range from 2.0 to 20 ng/ml with a detection limit of 1.0 ng/ml. The prepared CEA immunosensor is not only economic due to the low-cost ITO electrode obtained from industrial mass production, but is also capable with good stability and reproducibility for batch fabrication.     

Ultrasensitive electrochemical immunoassay based on graphene oxide-Ag composites for rapid determination of clenbuterol

We report the development of an ultrasensitive amperometric biosensor based on Ag nanoparticles-decorated graphene oxide nanosheets (GO) (Ag-GO) for the rapid detection of clenbuterol (CLB). The morphology and structure of the Ag-GO labeled CLB (Ag-GO-CLB) were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), and ultraviolet-visible spectroscope (UV-vis). The immunosensor was prepared by covalently immobilizing capture antibodies on a multi-walled carbon nanotubes-modified glassy carbon electrode. Through competitive immunoreactions, the Ag-GO-CLB nanocomposites were captured on the immunosensor and the silver was measured by positive differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) in KCl solution for the detection of antigen. The experimental results show a linear response over the range from 0.01 to 10.0 ng mL(-1) with a lower detection limit of 6.8 pg mL(-1) (signal-to-noise ratio of 3). The Ag-GO based immunosensor offers a simple and convenient route for metal-immunoassay labels, which can avoid the complicated and time-consuming dissolving of metal component for ultrasensitive determination. Moreover, the electrochemical immunoassay shows acceptable specificity and stability and is suitable for the determination of CLB in real samples.     

Gold Nanoparticles Doped Three‐Dimensional Sol‐gel Matrix for Amperometric Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin Immunosensor

A novel electrochemical immunosensor for human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) was proposed by immobilization of hCG in gold nanoparticles doped three‐dimensional (3D) sol‐gel matrix and an interfacial competitive immunoreaction. The 3D organized composite structure was prepared by assemble of gold nanoparticles into a hydrolyzed (3‐mercaptopropyl)‐trimethoxysilane sol‐gel matrix, which showed good biocompatibility. After the interfacial competitive immunoreaction the formed HRP‐labeled immunoconjugate showed good enzymatic activity for the oxidation of o‐phenylenediamine by H₂O₂. With a competitive format, a method comprising of o‐phenylenediamine‐H₂O₂‐immobilized HRP labeled hCG immunoconjugate system for immunoassay of hCG from 5.0 to 30.0 mIU mL^?1 was developed. The immunosensor showed good precision, high sensitivity, acceptable stability and reproducibility and could be used for detection of hCG in human serum with the consistent results in comparison with those obtained by a commercial analyzer.     

Specific Detection of Salmonella typhi Using Renewable Amperometric Immunosensor

A renewable amperometric immunosensor was developed for the specific detection of Salmonella typhi (S. typhi) using flagellin specific antibodies. An immunocomposite comprising paraffin, graphite, and capturing antibodies against S. typhi was used to construct the electrode. The detection technique involved a sandwich ELISA system. The assay conditions were optimized for loading of capturing antibody, incubation time for S. typhi cells, rotation speed and minimum amount of substrate needed. 1‐naphthyl phosphate was used as the substrate with an amperometric detection of its enzymatic hydrolysis product 1‐naphthol at a potential of +400 mV vs Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The minimum detection limit for S. typhi was found to be 10⁵ cells/mL in 90 min, while ELISA detects 10⁶ cells/mL in five hours.     

Interdigitated Conductometric Immunosensor for Determination of Interleukin‐6 in Humans Based on Dendrimer G4 and Colloidal Gold Modified Composite Film

A highly sensitive, fast and stable conductometric immunosensor for determination of interleukin‐6 (IL6) in humans is developed by encapsulation of horseradish peroxidase‐labeled interleukin‐6 antibody (HRP‐anti‐IL6) in poly(amidoamine) fourth‐generation dendrimer (dendrimer) and colloidal gold (nanogold) modified composite architecture. The presences of nanogold and dendrimer provided a congenial microenvironment for the immobilized biomolecules and decreased the electron transfer impedance, leading to a direct electrochemical behavior of the immobilized HRP. The formation of the antibody‐antigen complex by a simple one‐step immunoreaction between the immobilized HRP‐anti‐IL6 and IL6 in sample solution introduced a barrier of direct electrical communication between the immobilized HRP and the gold electrode surface, thus local conductivity variations could be detected by the HRP electrocatalytic reaction in 0.02 M phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0) containing 50 μM H₂O₂, 0.01 M KI and 0.15 M NaC1. Under optimal conditions, the proposed immunosensor exhibited a good conductometric response to IL6 in a linear range from 30 to 300 pg/mL with a relatively low detection limit of 10 pg/mL at 3δ. The precision and reproducibility are acceptable with the intra‐assay CV of 7.3% and 5.6% at 100 and 200 pg/mL IL6, respectively. The storage stability of the proposed immunosensor is acceptable in a pH 7.0 PBS at 4 °C for 8 days. Importantly, the proposed methodology could be extended to the detection of other antigens or biocompounds.     

Amplified Electrochemical Immunosensor for Calmodulin Detection Based on Gold‐Silver‐Graphene Hybrid Nanomaterials and Enhanced Gold Nanorods Labels

Calmodulin (CaM) is an important intracellular calcium‐binding protein. It plays a critical role in a variety of biological and biochemical processes. In this paper, a new electrochemical immunosensing protocol for sensitive detection of CaM was developed by using gold‐silver‐graphene (AuAgGP) hybrid nanomaterials as protein immobilization matrices and gold nanorods (GNRs) as enhanced electrochemical labels. Electrode was first modified with thionine‐chitosan film to provide an immobilization support for gold‐silver‐graphene hybrid nanomaterials. The hybrid materials formed an effective matrix for binding of CaM with high density and improved the electrochemical responses as well. Gold nanorods were prepared for the fabrication of enhanced labels (HRP‐Ab₂‐GNRs), which provided a large capacity for HRP‐Ab₂ immobilization and a facile pathway for electron transfer. With two‐step immunoassay format, the HRP‐Ab₂‐GNRs labels were introduced onto the electrode surface, and produced electrochemical responses by catalytic reaction of HRP toward enzyme substrate of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in the presence of thionine. The proposed immunosensor showed an excellent analytical performance for the detection of CaM ranging from 50 pg mL^?1 to 200 ng mL^?1 with a detection limit of 18 pg mL^?1. The immunosensor has also been successfully applied to the CaM analysis in two cancer cells (HepG2 and MCF‐7) with high sensitivity, which has shown great potency for improving clinic diagnosis and treatment for cancer study.     

Sandwich Immunoassay for Hepatitis C Virus Non-Structural 5A Protein Using a Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with an Au-MoO3/Chitosan Nanocomposite

A novel electrochemical immunosensor was prepared for the detection of the hepatitis C virus non-structural 5A protein. A glassy carbon electrode was modified with an Au-MoO₃/Chitosan nanocomposite that warranted good conductivity and biocompatibility. Mesoporous silica with a large specific surface served as a nanocarrier for horseradish peroxidase and the polyclonal antibody as the reporter probe. The immunosensor was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. Following the sandwich-type immunoreaction, horseradish peroxidase was efficiently captured on the surface of the electrode to catalyze the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. The analytical signal was obtained as an amperometric i-t curve (chronoamperometry). The assay reported here had a wide detection range (1 ng mL^?1 ?50 µg mL^?1) and detection limit as low as 1 ng mL^?1 of hepatitis C virus non-structural 5A protein. The electrochemical biosensor experiments showed excellent reproducibility, high selectivity, and outstanding stability for the determination of hepatitis C virus non-structural 5A protein, and it was successfully applied to the detection of the analyte in real serum samples.     

Electrochemical Immunosensor for the Determination of Total Ghrelin Hormone in Saliva

An electrochemical immunosensor for ghrelin (GHRL) determination in saliva is reported. Anti‐GHRL was immobilized onto Protein G‐magnetic beads and a competitive immunoassay involving biotinylated GHRL and alkaline phosphatase‐streptavidin was implemented. Once conjugate was magnetically captured on a screen‐printed carbon electrode, GHRL quantization was accomplished by DPV of 1‐naphtol formed upon addition of 1‐naphtyl phosphate. A linear range between 10^?3 and 10³ ng/mL GHRL, and a LOD of 7 pg/mL, much smaller than those from commercial ELISA kits, were found. The usefulness of the immunosensor was demonstrated by analyzing human saliva spiked with GHRL at 0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 ng/mL.     

One‐Step Electrochemical Immunoassay for Carcinoembryonic Antigen in Human via Back‐Filling Immobilization of Gold Nanoparticles on DNA‐Modified Gold Electrodes

A new amperometric immunobiosensor for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) determination in human serum was developed via encapsulation of horseradish peroxidase‐labeled carcinoembryonic antibody (HRP‐anti‐CEA) in a gold nanoparticles/DNA composite architecture. The presences of gold nanoparticles provided a congenial microenvironment for the immobilized biomolecules and decreased the electron transfer impedance, leading to a direct electrochemical behavior of the immobilized HRP. The formation of the antibody–antigen complex by a simple one‐step immunoreaction between the immobilized HRP‐anti‐CEA and CEA in sample solution introduced a barrier of direct electrical communication between the immobilized HRP and the gold electrode surface. Under optimal conditions, the current change obtained from the labeled HRP relative to H₂O₂ system was proportional to the CEA concentration in two linear ranges from 0.5 to 15 ng/mL and 15 to 300 ng/mL with a detection limit of 0.1 ng/mL (at 3δ). The precision and reproducibility are acceptable with the intraassay CV of 6.3% and 4.7% at 8 and 60 ng/mL CEA, respectively. The storage stability of the proposed immunosensor is acceptable in a pH 7.0 PBS at 4 °C for 9 days. Moreover, the proposed immunosensors were used to analyze CEA in human serum specimens. Analytical results of clinical samples show the developed immunoassay has a promising alternative approach for detecting CEA in the clinical diagnosis.     

Bacteria-modified amperometric immunosensor for a Brucella melitensis antibody assay.

A novel amperometric immunosensor setup is described which uses horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as a label in conjunction with a current-based Brucella sensor. The Bacteria modified immunosensor was constructed by using a biocomposite formed by dispersing graphite powder into a mixture of Brucella melitensis and silicate polymer gel. The enzyme-labeled antibody can readily diffuse toward the encapsulated antigen (Brucella melitensis), which retains its binding properties, and the association reaction is easily detected at the surface exposed to the solution. The use of an oaminophenol (o-AP) substrate and amperometric detection at -150 mV (vs. SCE) results in a relatively low detection limit of 3.5 ng/ml and a linear detection range of 3.5 ng/ml to 200 ng/ml. Based on an optimized parameter, the prepared sensor was used to detect the Brucella melitensis antibody in serum samples by using a competitive binding assay. The results demonstrate the feasibility of employing the proposed immunosensor for the detection for Brucella melitensis antibody in a clinical analysis.     

基于多层酶/纳米金固定甲胎蛋白免疫传感器的研究

>利用自组装技术和静电吸附作用, 将甲胎蛋白抗体(anti-AFP)固定在多层辣根过氧化物酶/纳米金及L-半胱胺酸修饰的金电极表面, 制备出用于检测甲胎蛋白抗原(AFP)的无试剂型免疫传感器. 通过交流阻抗技术、循环伏安法和计时电流法考察了电极的电化学特性, 并对该免疫传感器的作用机理及性能进行了详细的研究. 用计时电流法测得AFP的线性范围为1.0～10.0和10～200 ng•mL^－1, 检出限为0.5 ng•mL^－1. 实验结果表明, 该方法提高了抗体的固定量, 增强了传感器的灵敏度和稳定性, 且该传感器响应迅速、选择性好, 血清中常见抗原不干扰测定. 将其用于临床血清检验, 与放射免疫测定法(RIA)的符合率为86.7%.