基于AuNPs/PDDA-GO纳米复合物的电化学免疫传感器的构建及对SirT1蛋白的检测

基于AuNPs/PDDA-GO纳米复合物制备了一种新型电化学免疫传感器, 并将其用于SirT1的检测. 首先, 在电极表面修饰复合材料AuNPs/PDDA-GO, 然后将目标蛋白SirT1固定到修饰了AuNPs/PDDA-GO的电极表面, 再通过特异性免疫反应结合一抗(Ab₁)和辣根过氧化酶标记的二抗分子(HRP-Ab₂), 最后用示差脉冲伏安法检测电流信号, 实现了对SirT1蛋白水平的测定. 在优化的实验条件下, SirT1蛋白的浓度在0.1~100 ng/mL范围内与响应电流呈良好线性关系, 检出限为0.029 ng/mL.     

Automated chemiluminescent dual-analyte immunoassay based on resolved immunosensing channels

A novel system of series-wound immunosensing channels (SWIC) was proposed for automated chemiluminescent (CL) dual-analyte immunoassay by immobilizing respectively different capture antibodies on the inner walls of series-wound glass channels. This system could use a single enzyme as label to perform multiplex immunoassay in one fluid way. Using α-fetoprotein (AFP) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as model analytes, the mixture including AFP, horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled anti-AFP antibody, CEA and HRP-labeled anti-CEA antibody was introduced into the SWIC for carrying out the on-line incubation. Upon injection of CL substrate the CL signals from the two immunosensing channels were conveniently resolved and near-simultaneously collected with the aid of optical shutter. AFP and CEA could be rapidly assayed in the ranges of 1.0-100 and 1.0-80 ng/ml with detection limits of 0.41 and 0.39 ng/ml, respectively. The assay results of clinical serum samples were in an acceptable agreement with the reference values. This designed flow-through immunosensing system based on SWIC provided an automated, reusable, simple, sensitive and low-cost approach for multianalyte immunoassay.     

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.     

化学发光底物分辨双组分免疫分析法测定胶质瘤标志物NSE和CA15-3

本文建立了一种基于辣根过氧化物酶(HRP)和碱性磷酸酯酶(ALP)化学发光底物分辨的双组分免疫分析新技术,用以检测人胶质瘤血清标志物神经元特异性烯醇化酶(NSE)和糖链抗原15-3(CA15-3).实验详细考察了捕获抗体、检测抗体、HRP和ALP酶标记物的用量,结果发现NSE和CA15-3的线性范围分别为0.5～20ng/mL(R20.99)和0.5～20U/mL(R20.99),最低检出限分别为0.2ng/mL和0.2U/mL;高、中和低三个浓度的血清加样回收率良好;天内和天间相对标准偏差均小于10%;且一份血清,两组分同时检测无交叉干扰.综合而言:本法能够一次实验,高灵敏、高特异地同时检测两种疾病标志物,具有血清用量少、检测时间短、操作简单、结果可靠的优点,有望为胶质瘤的临床早期诊断提供坚实的支持.     

Disposable electrochemical immunosensor by using carbon sphere/gold nanoparticle composites as labels for signal amplification

This work designed a simple, sensitive, and low-cost immunosensor for the detection of protein marker by using a carbon sphere/gold nanoparticle (CNS/AuNP) composite as an electrochemical label. The nanoscale carbon spheres, prepared with a hydrothermal method by using glucose as raw material, were used to load AuNPs for labeling antibody by electrostatic interaction, which provided a feasible pathway for electron transfer due to the remarkable conductivity. The disposable immunosensor was constructed by coating a polyethylene glycol (PEG) film on a screen-printed carbon-working electrode and then immobilizing capture antibody on the film. With a sandwich-type immunoassay format, the analyte and then the CNS/AuNP-labeled antibody were successively bound to the immunosensor. The bound AuNPs were finally electro-oxidized in 0.1 M HCl to produce AuCl(4)(-) for differential pulse voltammetric (DPV) detection. The high-loading capability of AuNPs on CNS for the sandwich-type immunorecognition led to obvious signal amplification. By using human immunoglobulin?G (IgG) as model target, the DPV signal of AuNPs after electro-oxidized at optimal potential of +1.40?V for 40?s showed a wide linear dependence on the logarithm of target concentration ranging from 10?pg mL(-1) to 10?ng mL(-1). The detection limit was around 9?pg mL(-1). The immunosensor showed excellent analytical performance with cost effectivity, good fabrication reproducibility, and acceptable precision and accuracy, providing significant potential application in clinical analysis.     

Carbon Nanomaterials‐based Electrochemical Immunoassay with β‐Galactosidase as Labels for Carcinoembryonic Antigen

In this study, a novel signal‐amplified strategy for sensitive electrochemical sandwiched immunoassay of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was constructed based on aminofunctionalized graphene oxide (GO‐NH₂) supported AgNPs used as catalytic labels of secondary anti‐CEA and β‐galactosidase (β‐Gal), Meanwhile, sulfhydrylation single‐wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs‐SH) as substrate materials embellished gold electrode through Au‐SH and connected with gold nanoparticles to form anti‐CEA/AuNPs/SWCNTs‐SH/Au sensing platform through layer‐by‐layer. In the presence of analyte CEA, a sandwich‐type immunoassay format was employed for determination of CEA by using the labeled β‐Gal toward the reduction of p‐aminophenyl galactopyranoside (PAPG) and the redox reaction of AgNPs. Under optimal conditions, the increase in the current was proportional to the concentration of CEA from 0.1 pg/mL to 200 ng/mL. The detection limit (LOD) was 0.036 pg/mL CEA at 3σ. The electrochemical immunoassay displayed an acceptable precision, selectivity, stability. Clinical serum specimens were assayed with the method, and the results were in acceptable agreement with those obtained from the referenced electrochemiluminescent method.     

A reusable electrochemical immunosensor for carcinoembryonic antigen via molecular recognition of glycoprotein antibody by phenylboronic acid self-assembly layer on gold

A reusable amperometric immunosensor based on the reversible boronic acid-sugar interaction is proposed. The immunosensor was prepared by self-assembling a thiol-mixed monolayer comprised of conjugates of 3-aminophenylboronic acid with 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (APBA-MUA) and 11-mercapto-1-undecanol (MU) on gold. The resulting boronic acid coating layer can specifically bind with the glycoprotein antibody, enzyme conjugated carcinoembryonic antibody (HRP-anti-CEA). Voltammetric and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) studies and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) measurements show that the binding of HRP-anti-CEA to the APBA interface is reversible and the HRP-anti-CEA can be removed with an acidic buffer or a solution containing sorbitol. The bound enzyme-conjugated antibody can retain its enzyme catalytic activity to the reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) and its immunoactivity while binding with CEA to form an immunocomplex. After the formation of the immunocomplex, the access of the active center of HRP to thionine was partially inhibited. This leads to a linear decrease in the electrocatalytic response of HRP-anti-CEA-modified electrode over a CEA concentration range of 2.5 to 40.0 ng mL(-1). After monitoring the immunoreaction signals, the immunocomplex can be easily removed from the APBA interface with a regeneration solution. This regenerated APBA interface can rebound with HRP-anti-CEA and be recognized by the antigen, through which a reusable immunosensor with an RSD of 7.1% for four cycles can be obtained. Under optimal conditions, the detection limit for the CEA immunoassay is 1.1 ng mL(-1), at three times background noise. Serum CEA determination results, obtained with the proposed method, shows that the immunosensor has an acceptable accuracy.     

Homogeneous fluorescence-based immunoassay via inner filter effect of gold nanoparticles on fluorescence of CdTe quantum dots

Homogeneous immunoassays are becoming more and more attractive for modern medical diagnosis because they are superior to heterogeneous immunoassays in sample and reagent consumption, analysis time, portability and disposability. Herein, a universal platform for homogeneous immunoassay, using human immunoglobulin (IgG) as a model analyte, has been developed. This assay relies upon the inner filter effect (IFE) of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on CdTe QDs fluorescence. The immunoreaction of antigen and antibody can induce the aggregation of antibody-functionalized AuNPs, and after aggregation the IFE of AuNPs on CdTe QDs fluorescence is greatly enhanced, resulting in a decrease of fluorescence intensity in the system. Based on this phenomenon, a wide dynamic range of 1-100 pg mL(-1) for determination of IgG can be obtained. The proposed method shows a detection limit of 0.3 pg mL(-1) for human IgG, which is much lower than the corresponding absorbance-based approach and compares favorably with other reported fluorescent methods. This immunoassay method is simple, rapid, cheap, and sensitive. The proposed method has been successfully applied to measuring IgG in serum samples, and the obtained results agreed well with those of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).     

Chemiluminescence immunoassay for cardiac troponin T by using silver nanoparticles functionalized with hemin/G-quadruplex DNAzyme on a glass chip array

The authors describe an array for chemiluminescence (CL) based determination of cardiac troponin T (cTnT), an important cardiovascular disease marker. The tracing tag consists of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) loaded with guanine-rich DNA sequences and detection antibody in a high numerical ratio. The loaded AgNPs were then reacted with hemin to form a hemin/G-quadruplex DNAzyme. A disposable immunosensor array was fabricated by immobilizing capture antibody on corresponding sensing sites on a glass chip. Once a sandwich immunocomplex is formed on the array, the tracing tag catalyzes the CL reaction of the luminol-p-iodophenol and H₂O₂ system to produce a CL signal, which is collected by a CCD camera. An intuitive CL image is obtained containing all of the spots on the array. Under optimal conditions, the method shows a wide linear range over 4 orders of magnitude (from 0.003 to 270 ng·L^?1), a detection limit down to 84 fg·L^?1, and a throughput as high as 44 tests·h^?1. The results obtained with serum samples are in acceptable agreement with reference values. The AgNP-based tracing tag as well as the immunoassay method shows a promising potential for point-of-care testing for the early clinical diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.

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Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) functionalized with hemin/G-quadruplex DNAzyme for highly sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) immunoassay of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) on a glass chip array.

     

Nanoparticle labelling-based magnetic immunoassay on chip combined with electrothermal vaporization-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for the determination of carcinoembryonic antigen in human serum

A sensitive and selective on chip magnetic immunoassay method, based on a sandwich-type immunoreaction with PbS nanoparticle (NPs) labels in combination with electrothermal vaporization-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ETV-ICP-MS), was proposed for the determination of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). We designed and fabricated a microfluidic chip for magnetic immunoassay, and the prepared iminodiacetic acid modified silica coated magnetic nanoparticles (IDA-SCMNPs) were packed into the central microchannel to form a solid phase column by self-assembly under the magnetic field. After completion of the immunoreaction involving a primary antibody, CEA and a secondary antibody labeled with PbS NPs on a magnetic solid phase packed-column, ETV-ICP-MS was used to determine the concentration of Pb that was released from the captured PbS NPs using an acid-dissolution step. The concentrations of CEA can be correlated with that of Pb. The established method demonstrated a limit of detection of 0.058 μg L(-1) for CEA, with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 6.7% (c = 10 μg L(-1), n = 7). A linearity ranging from 0.2 μg L(-1) to 50 μg L(-1) and a 2-fold enrichment factor (from 60 μL sample solution to 30 μL eluent) were achieved. The proposed method was further validated by analyzing CEA in human serum. The results were in good agreement with those obtained by chemiluminescent immunoassay, which is currently used as a clinical method. Overall, this method offers the advantages of high speed, high sensitivity, high selectivity, low sample/reagents consumption, high integrity and versatility. Moreover, it can be easily applied to other biological and medical assays.     

Amplified inhibition of the electrochemical signal of ferrocene by enzyme-functionalized graphene oxide nanoprobe for ultrasensitive immunoassay

A nanoprobe-induced signal inhibition mechanism was designed for ultrasensitive electrochemical immunoassay at a chitosan-ferrocene (CS-Fc) based immunosensor. The nanoprobe was prepared by covalently loading signal antibody and high-content horseradish peroxidase (HRP) on the graphene oxide (GO) nanocarrier. The immunosensor was prepared through the stepwise assembly of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) and capture antibody at a CS-Fc modified electrode. After sandwich immunoreaction, the GO-HRP nanoprobes were quantitatively captured onto the immunosensor surface and thus induced the production of a layer of insoluble film through the enzymatically catalytic reaction of the HRP labels. Both the dielectric immunocomplex formed on the immunosensor surface and the enzymatic precipitate with low electroconductivity led to the electrochemical signal decease of the Fc indicator, which was greatly amplified by the multi-enzyme signal amplification of the nanoprobe. Based on this amplified signal inhibition mechanism, a new ultrasensitive electrochemical immunoassay method was developed. Using carcinoembryonic antigen as a model analyte, this method showed a wide linear range over 5 orders of magnitude with a detection limit down to 0.54 pg/mL. Besides, the immunosensor showed good specificity, acceptable reproducibility and stability as well as satisfactory reliability for the serum sample analysis.     

Dopamine-loaded Liposomes-amplified Electrochemical Immunoassay Based on MXene (Ti3C2)−AuNPs

A simple and novel electrochemical immunoassay based on MXene (Ti₃C₂)−Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) was designed for sensitive screening of a disease-related biomarker, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), by using dopamine-loaded liposomes (DLL) for signal amplification. The system involves two parts, namely, sandwich-type immunoreaction to capture DLL and electrochemical measurement of dopamine. The target PSA can cause a specific antigen-antibody reaction and DLL are enriched in the enzyme-labeled pores. After Triton X-100 is injected into the detection cell, the carried DLL was quickly cracked to release dopamine wrapped in the cavity. A nanocomposite consisting of MXene (Ti₃C₂) support to immobilize Au nanoparticles (Ti₃C₂−Au) was utilized to modify a glassy carbon electrode, which gives a strongly enhanced differential pulse voltammetric (DPV) signals for dopamine. In this case, the change of DPV signal depends on the amount of dopamine released by liposomes, which is further positively correlated with the concentration of the analyte PSA. Combining the of MXene (Ti₃C₂)−AuNPs nanomaterials (large specific surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, and good electrocatalytic properties) with the liposome signal amplification strategy, the electrochemical immunoassay exhibited excellent performance toward PSA determination with a broad linear range of 1 pg/mL to 50 ng/mL and limit of detection down to 0.31 pg/mL (S/N=3) under the optimized testing conditions. High specificity for PSA over other disease-related biomarkers and acceptable nanocomposite/electrode stability were acquired. The excellent analytical performance shows that the current strategy provides an effective detection platform for clinical sample analysis.     

Ultrasensitive electrochemical immunoassay for carcinoembryonic antigen based on three-dimensional macroporous gold nanoparticles/graphene composite platform and multienzyme functionalized nanoporous silver label

Three-dimensional macroporous gold nanoparticles/graphene composites (3D-AuNPs/GN) were synthesized through a simple two-step process, and were used to modify working electrode sensing platform, based on which a facile electrochemical immunoassay for sensitive detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in human serum was developed. In the proposed 3D-AuNPs/GN, AuNPs were distributed not just on the surface, but also on the inside of graphene. And this distribution property increased the area of sensing surface, resulting in capturing more primary antibodies as well as improving the electronic transmission rate. In the presence of CEA, a sandwich-type immune composite was formed on the sensing platform, and the horseradish peroxidase-labeled anti-CEA antibody (HRP-Ab₂)/thionine/nanoporous silver (HRP-Ab₂/TH/NPS) signal label was captured. Under optimal conditions, the electrochemical immunosensor exhibited excellent analytical performance: the detection range of CEA is from 0.001 to 10 ng mL⁻¹ with low detection limit of 0.35 pg mL⁻¹ and low limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.85 pg mL⁻¹. The electrochemical immunosensor showed good precision, acceptable stability and reproducibility, and could be used for the detection of CEA in real samples. The proposed method provides a promising platform of clinical immunoassay for other biomolecules     

Ultrasensitive electrochemiluminescence immunoassay for tumor marker detection using functionalized Ru-silica@nanoporous gold composite as labels

In this work, we reported a simple and sensitive sandwich-type electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) on a gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The Ru-silica (Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)-doped silica) capped nanoporous gold (NPG) (Ru-silica@NPG) composite was used as an excellent label with amplification techniques. The NPG was prepared with a simple dealloying strategy, by which silver was dissolved from silver/gold alloys in nitric acid. The primary antibody was immobilized on the AuNPs modified electrode through l-cysteine and glutaraldehyde, and then the antigen and the functionalized Ru-silica@NPG composite labeled secondary antibody were conjugated successively to form a sandwich-type immunocomplex through the specific interaction. The concentrations of CEA were obtained in the range from 1 pg mL(-1) to 10 ng mL(-1) with a detection limit of 0.8 pg mL(-1). The as-proposed ECL immunosensor has the advantages of high sensitivity, specificity and stability and could become a promising technique for tumor marker detection.     

Dual‐Amplification of Antigen–Antibody Interactions via Backfilling Gold Nanoparticles on (3‐Mercaptopropyl) Trimethoxysilane Sol‐Gel Functionalized Interface

A new dual‐amplification strategy of electrochemical signaling from antigen–antibody interactions was proposed via backfilling gold nanoparticles on (3‐mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane sol‐gel (MPTS) functionalized interface. The MPTS was employed not only as a building block for the electrode surface modification but also as a matrix for ligand functionalization with first amplification. The second signal amplification strategy introduced in this study was based on the backfilling immobilization of nanogold particles to the immunosensor surface. Several coupling techniques, such as with nanogold but not MPTS or with MPTS but not nanogold, were investigated for the determination of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as a model, and a very good result was obtained with nanogold and MPTS coupling immunosensor. With the noncompetitive format, the formation of the antigen–antibody complex by a simple one‐step immunoreaction between the immobilized anti‐CEA and CEA in sample solution introduced membrane potential change before and after the antigen–antibody interaction. Under optimal conditions, the proposed immunosensor exhibited a good electrochemical behavior to CEA in a dynamic concentration range of 4.4 to 85.7 ng/mL with a detection limit of 1.2 ng/mL (at 3 δ). Moreover, the precision, reproducibility and stability of the as‐prepared immunosensor were acceptable. Importantly, the proposed methodology would be valuable for diagnosis and monitoring of carcinoma and its metastasis.     

Gold nanoparticles based chemiluminescent resonance energy transfer for immunoassay of alpha fetoprotein cancer marker

In this paper, we report a new strategy of chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET) by using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as efficient long-range energy acceptor in sandwich immunoassays. In the design of CRET system, we chose the highly sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) reaction of luminol and hydrogen peroxide catalysed by horseradish peroxidase (HRP) because the CL spectrum of luminol (λ(max) 425 nm) partially overlaps with the visible absorption bands of AuNPs. On the basis of CRET strategy, we developed a sandwich immunoassay of alpha fetoprotein (AFP) cancer marker. In immunoassay, two antibodies (anti-AFP-1 and anti-AFP-2) were conjugated to AuNPs and horseradish peroxidase (HRP), respectively. The sandwich-type immunoreactions between the AFP (antigen) and the two different antibodies bridged the donors (luminol) and acceptors (AuNPs), which led to the occurrence of CRET from luminol to AuNPs upon chemiluminescent reaction. We observed that the quenching of chemiluminescence signal depended linearly on the AFP concentration within a range of concentration from 5 to 70 ng mL(-1) and the detection limit of AFP was 2.5 ng mL(-1). Our method was successfully applied for determination of AFP levels in sera from cancer patients, and the results were in good agreement with ELISA assays. This approach is expected to be extended to other assay designs, that is, using other antibodies, analytes, chemiluminescent substance, and even other metallic nanoparticles.     

Iridium Oxide Film-Enhanced Impedance Immunosensor for Rapid Detection of Carcinoembyronic Antigen

A simple, rapid and sensitive impedance immunosensor based on iridium oxide （IrOx） thin film for the detection of carcinoembyronic antigen （CEA） in human sera has been proposed. Gold electrode was electrochemically modified with IrOx thin film and simultaneously functionalized with protein A （PA） to bind anti-CEA antibodies in an orientated way. It has been found that the antibody loading amount was dependent on the PA concentration and the deposition time of IrOx matrix. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the electron transfer resistances obtained were linearly related to the CEA concentration ranging from 36.2 to 460.0 ng/mL, with a detection limit of 28.0 ng/mL. Analytical results of clinical samples from cancer patients show that the proposed immunoassay is reasonably comparable with the chemiluminescence immunoassay （CLIA）, indicating the feasibility of using the proposed method for CEA immunoassay in clinical laboratory.     

A high-throughput homogeneous immunoassay based on Förster resonance energy transfer between quantum dots and gold nanoparticles

A novel homogeneous immunoassay based on Förster resonance energy transfer for sensitive detection of tumor, e.g., marker with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), was proposed. The assay was consisted of polyclonal goat anti-CEA antibody labeled luminescent CdTe quantum dots (QDs) as donor and monoclonal goat anti-CEA antibody labeled gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as acceptor. In presence of CEA, the bio-affinity between antigen and antibody made the QDs and AuNPs close enough, thus the photoluminescence (PL) quenching of CdTe QDs occurred. The PL properties could be transformed into the fluorometric variation, corresponding to the target antigen concentration, and could be easily monitored and analyzed with the home-made image analysis software. The fluorometric results indicated a linear detection range of 1–110 ng mL⁻¹ for CEA, with a detection limit of 0.3 ng mL⁻¹. The proposed assay configuration was attractive for carcinoma screening or single sample in point-of-care testing, and even field use. In spite of the limit of available model analyte, this approach could be easily extended to detection of a wide range of biomarkers.     

Gold nanoparticles catalyzed chemiluminescence immunoassay for detection of herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid

We present a novel immunoassay format utilizing the catalytic properties of gold nanoparticles in the luminol-silver nitrate-gold nanoparticle based chemiluminescence (CL) system for the detection of widely used herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Highly sensitive anti-2,4-D antibody was produced and conjugated with gold nanoparticles of various sizes. In the present assay format, employing a competitive inhibition approach, a well-characterized hapten-protein conjugate (2,4-D-BSA) was used to coat the microtiter plates. The analyte (2,4-D) was pre-incubated with anti-2,4-D antibody labeled with gold nanoparticles and added to each well of the microtiter plate. The gold label triggered the reaction between luminol and silver nitrate generating a luminescence signal at 425 nm. Under the optimized conditions, the CL based immunoassay showed the detection limit of 2,4-D in standard water samples around 3 ng mL(-1). The CL based immunoassay format, based on gold nanoparticles as a catalyst, could be used as a fast screening methodology (<30 min) for pesticide detection.     

Sensitive detection of tumor marker CA15-3 in human serum by capillary electrophoretic immunoassay with chemiluminescence detection

A new and sensitive non-competitive immunoassay (IA) for tumor marker carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA15-3) by CE coupling with ECL detection has been developed. This method is based on luminol-H(2)O(2 )reaction catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The optimum CE separation and CL detection conditions were investigated. After the non-competitive immunoreaction, the free HRP-labeled CA15-3 antibody (Ab*) and the bound Ab*-antigen (Ab*-Ag) complex were separated in a separation capillary and then catalyzed the CL reaction of luminol and H(2)O(2 )in a reaction capillary following the separation capillary. The calibration curve based on the peak areas of Ab*-Ag complex plotted against the concentrations of CA15-3 is in the range of 0-250 U/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9983 and the detection limit is 0.035 U/mL (S/N = 3). The response for five consecutive injections of 125 U/mL CA15-3 resulted in RSDs of 0.83% and 3.1% for the migration time and the peak area, respectively. The method was successfully used for the quantification of CA15-3 in human sera obtained from healthy persons and from patients with breast cancer.