Highly sensitive lable-free electrochemical aptasensor for thrombin detection with cobalt hexacyanoferrate as the electrochemical probe

A highly sensitive label-free electrochemical aptasensor has been constructed for the electrochemical detection of thrombin (TB), where two layers of cobalt hexacyanoferrate (CoHCF) redox probes sandwiched with carbon nanotubes–Nafion were directly immobilized on the electrode surface by electrodeposition. Through the strong interaction between CN^? (CoHCF) and gold nanoparticles (GNPs), GNPs were assembled on the CoHCF-modified electrode for the immobilization of thiolated thrombin aptamers (TBA). In the presence of target TB, TBA on the electrode surface could catch TB to form TBA–TB complex, which made a barrier for the electron transfer, resulting in a greater decrease in CoHCF redox probe signals. Thus, the proposed aptasensor showed a high sensitivity and a much wider linearity to TB in the range of 1.0 pg/mL?～?1.0 μg/mL with a detection limit of 0.28 pg/mL.     

A novel aptasensor based on 3D-inorganic hybrid composite as immobilized substrate for sensitive detection of platelet-derived growth factor

A novel electrochemical detection approach for platelet-derived growth factor(PDGF) via "sandwich"structure is reported in this paper. 3D-4MgCO_3 Mg(OH)_2 4H_2O-Au NPs inorganic hybrid composite was utilized as immobilized substrate for sensitive PDGF detection and Pt-Au bimetallic nanoparticles were labelled on PDGF aptamer to indirectly detect PDGF for the first time. The proposed aptasensor exhibited a high catalytic efficiency towards reduction of H_2O_2, hence the sensitive detection of PDGF was achieved.Results showed that the aptasensor exhibited excellent linear response to PDGF, in the range of 0.1 pg/m L–10 ng/m L(4 fmol/L–400 pmol/L), with detection limit of 0.03 pg/m L(1.2 fmol/L).     

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.     

Electrochemical Aptasensor for Zearalenone Based on DNA Assembly and Exonuclease III as Amplification Strategy

A sensitively electrochemical aptasensor was developed to detect zearalenone, utilizing DNA assembly based on hybridization chain reaction to amplify the signal current and exonuclease III to reduce the background current. The linear range 5.0×10⁻⁵ ng/mL-50 ng/mL, and the limit of detection is 0.013 pg/mL. The fabricated aptasensor showed the high specificity toward aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), fumonisin B1 (FB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA), good repeatability and reproducibility. In addition, the average recoveries of spiked corn and beer samples were in the range of 89 % to 102 %. The established method is of great significance in the field of food safety detection.     

基于铂纳米颗粒@金属有机骨架纳米模拟酶的无标记电化学赭曲霉毒素适体传感器的构建

以具有类过氧化物酶性质的Pt NPs@Mn-MOF纳米复合材料作为电极基底, 采用丝网印刷电极构建了一种无标记型电化学适体传感器, 用于赭曲霉毒素(OTA)的检测. 利用Pt NPs@Mn-MOF的模拟酶特性, 将其作为电极基底用于捕获OTA适体链, 同时催化H₂O₂还原产生电流响应信号. OTA的引入会减少纳米酶的催化活性位点, 从而导致电流信号降低. 在0.01~300 ng/mL范围内, 随着OTA浓度的增加, 电流响应值逐渐降低; 采用计时电流法检测电流响应信号, 从而间接实现了对OTA的定量检测. 此外, 该生物传感器通过U盘式小型工作站进行检测, 不仅可与电脑连接进行检测, 还可与手机连接进而实现实时检测, 并且其检测灵敏度高、 重现性好, 检出限低至3.33 pg/mL(S/N=3). 该传感器可用于真实玉米样品中OTA的检测, 在真菌毒素现场检测中展现出潜在的应用价值.     

An intriguing electrochemical impedance aptasensor based on a porous organic framework supported silver nanoparticles for ultrasensitively detecting theophylline

Porous organic frameworks (POFs) are excellently stable porous materials, which can be employed as host platforms to support metal nanoparticles as functional composites for various applications. Herein, a novel POF is successfully prepared via Friedel-Crafts reaction. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are embedded in the prepared POF to generate an Ag@POF composite, which not only possesses high surface area, outstanding physicochemical stability and outstretched π-conjugation skeleton, but also exhibits preferable electrochemical stability and conductivity. This composite is able to immobilize a mass of aptamer strands to fabricate an intriguing electrochemical aptasensor. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a commonly used technology to analyze the electrochemical signal variation. The Ag@POF-based biosensor shows the excellent electrochemical detection behavior through analyzing EIS. For instance theophylline as a research mode, the Ag@POF based electrochemical aptasensor reveals ultra-sensitiveness, high selectivity, remarkable stability, good repeatability and simple operability even in various real samples. Notably, this aptasensor has the sensitive detection performance with the limit of detection of 0.191 pg/mL (1.06 pmol/L) in a wide concentration range of 5.0 × 10^-4 – 5.0 ng/mL (2.78 × 10^-3 – 27.8 nmol/L).     

Label‐free Electrochemical Aptasensor for Carcino‐embryonic Antigen Based on Ternary Nanocomposite of Gold Nanoparticles,Hemin and Graphene

In this report, a label‐free electrochemical aptasensor for carcino‐embryonic antigen (CEA) was successfully developed based on a ternary nanocomposite of gold nanoparticles, hemin and graphene nanosheets (AuNPs‐HGNs). This nanocomposite was prepared by decorating gold nanoparticles on the surface of hemin functionalized graphene nanosheets via a simple wet‐chemical strategy. The aptamer can be assembled on the surface of AuNPs‐HGNs/GCE (glassy carbon electrode) through Au‐S covalent bond to form the sensing interface. Hemin absorbed on the graphene nanosheets not only acts as a protective agent of graphene sheets, but also as an in situ probe base on its excellent redox properties. Gold nanoparticles provide with both numerous binding sites for loading CEA binding aptamer (CBA) and good conductivity to promote the electron transfer. The current changes, which are caused by CEA specifically binding on the modified electrode, are exploited for the label‐free detection of CEA in a very rapid and convenient protocol. Therefore, the method has advantages of high sensitivity, wide linear range (0.0001–10 ng mL^?1), low detection limit (40 fg mL^?1) and attractive specificity. The results illustrate that the proposed label‐free electrochemical aptasensor has a potential application in the biological or clinical target analysis for its simple operation and low cost.     

Amperometric sandwich-type aptasensor based on peroxidase mimetic Au@Pt for the carcinoembryonic antigen

For sensitive analysis of cancer biomarker carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), an amperometric sandwich-type aptasensor is proposed based on a signal amplification strategy of Au@Pt bimetallic nanoprobes. As the excellent catalytic activity to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), core-shell Au@Pt nanoparticles are employed as nanoprobes by conjugating directly with the secondary aptamer of CEA (Apt-II). Due to the synergic recognition effect of dual aptamers and the excellent catalytic activity of nanoprobes, this amperometric sandwich-type aptasensor for CEA exhibits high specificity and good sensitivity with a limit of detection of 0.31 ng/mL, along with a wide linear range from 0.1 ng/mL to 100 ng/mL.     

Artful union of a zirconium-porphyrin MOF/GO composite for fabricating an aptamer-based electrochemical sensor with superb detecting performance

More and more attentions have been focused on design and synthesis of novel metal-organic framework/graphene oxide (MOF/GO) composites with unique performance. Zirconium-porphyrin MOF (PCN-222) is in-situ synthesis with the existence of GO with −COOH group to artfully fabricate a PCN-222/GO composite. This composite can be employed as functional material to modify the working electrode. Thanks to excellent electrical conductivity of GO, abundant mesoporous channels and numerous Zr(IV) metal sites of PCN-222, this composite can immobilize a large amount of aptamer through strong π-π stacking interaction and high affinity between phosphate group of aptamer and Zr(IV) site of PCN-222 simultaneously. Hence, an ultra-sensitive electrochemical aptasensor based on PCN-222/GO composite can quantificationally detect trace chloramphenicol with limit of detection of 7.04 pg/mL (21.79 pmol/L) from 0.01 ng/mL to 50 ng/mL by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy even in real samples. Meanwhile, this fabricated aptasensor reveals good repeatability, outstanding selectivity and preferable long-term storage. This research provides a useful approach to construct MOF/GO composites for fabricating electrochemical aptasensors in the electrochemical detection field.     

A novel lable-free electrochemical immunosensor for carcinoembryonic antigen based on gold nanoparticles-thionine-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite film modified glassy carbon electrode

In this paper, gold nanoparticle-thionine-reduced graphene oxide (GNP-THi-GR) nanocomposites were prepared to design a label-free immunosensor for the sensitive detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The nanocomposites with good biocompatibility, excellent redox electrochemical activity and large surface area were coated onto the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface and then CEA antibody (anti-CEA) was immobilized on the electrode to construct the immunosensor. The morphologies and electrochemistry of the formed nanocomposites were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectrometry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). CV and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) studies demonstrated that the formation of antibody-antigen complexes decreased the peak current of THi in the GNP-THi-GR nanocomposites. The decreased currents were proportional to the CEA concentration in the range of 10-500 pg/mL with a detection limit of 4 pg/mL. The proposed method was simple, fast and inexpensive for the determination of CEA at very low levels.     

DNA Electrochemical Aptasensor for Detecting Fumonisins B1 Based on Graphene and Thionine Nanocomposite

In this paper, a novel aptasensor was designed by with the dual amplification of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) and graphene/thionine nanocomposites (GS‐TH) for sensitive determination of fumonisins B₁ (FB₁). AuNPs is modified at the electrode surface to increase the electrical conductivity and fabricate specific recognition interface for FB₁ through the hybridization of capture DNA and its aptamer. Large number of TH molecules were loaded at the surface of graphene sheet to served as electrochemical probe and increase its electrochemical signal due to the excellent conductivity and large surface area of graphene sheet. This type of nanocomposites is then assembled to the single strand section of FB₁ aptamer at electrode surface by π–π stacking interactions between them, leading to an enhanced electrochemical signal. After the specific combination between FB₁ aptamer and its target (FB₁) in solution, GS–TH was released from electrode surface, resulting in a decreased electrochemical signal. The result demonstrated that the decreased currents were proportional to the FB₁ concentration in the range of 1–10⁶ pg/mL with a detection limit of 1 pg/mL. Besides, the developed aptasensor was also applied successfully for the determination of FB₁ in feed samples. The result shows this aptasensor has a higher sensitivity and selectivity.     

非标记型血小板衍生生长因子核酸适体传感器

合成了介孔二氧化硅负载金纳米颗粒(Au-MSN), 通过壳聚糖(CHIT)将Au-MSN固定到裸玻碳电极表面, 采用自组装法将带巯基的血小板衍生生长因子(PDGF)核酸适体固定到Au-MSN修饰过的玻碳电极表面, 制得PDGF核酸适体传感器. 以亚甲基蓝作为电化学活性嵌入剂, 通过检测核酸适体与目标分析物PDGF特异性结合前后亚甲基蓝电信号的变化, 实现了对PDGF的定量检测. 考察了缓冲溶液的pH、 扫描速度及PDGF培育时间等条件对检测结果的影响. 结果表明, 在pH为7.6时, 该传感器的检测范围为0.1 pg/mL~1 μg/mL, 检出限为0.03 pg/mL. 该传感器制作简单、 成本低廉、 灵敏度高且稳定性好.     

Advanced Pt hollow nanospheres/rubrene nanoleaves coupled with M-shaped DNA walker for ultrasensitive electrochemiluminescence bioassay

Herein, an intense electrochemiluminescence (ECL) was achieved based on Pt hollow nanospheres/rubrene nanoleaves (Pt HNSs/Rub NLs) without the addition of any coreactant, which was employed for ultrasensitive detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) coupled with an M-shaped DNA walker (M-DNA walker) as signal switch. Specifically, in comparison with platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs), Pt HNSs revealed excellent catalytic performance and pore confinement-enhanced ECL, which could significantly amplify ECL intensity of Rub NLs/dissolved O₂ (DO) binary system. Then, the tracks and M-DNA walker were confined on the Pt HNSs simultaneously to promote the reaction efficiency, whose M-structure boosted the interaction sites between walking strands and tracks and reduced the rigidity of their recognition. Once the CEA approached the sensing interface, the M-DNA walker was activated based on highly specific aptamer recognition to recover ECL intensity with the assistance of exonuclease Ⅲ (Exo Ⅲ). As proof of concept, the “on-off-on” switch aptasensor was constructed for CEA detection with a low detection limit of 0.20 fg/mL. The principle of the constructed ECL aptasensor also enables a universal platform for sensitive detection of other tumor markers.     

基于碳纳米管的高灵敏度免标记电化学核酸适体传感电极

以电活性钌化合物[Ru(NH₃)₆]³⁺为信号传感源,借助碳纳米管构建了高灵敏检测腺苷免标记电化学传感电极（BSA/Apt/CNTs/GC）. BSA/Apt/CNTs/GC电极在最佳实验条件下检测腺苷线性范围为5.0×10^-11 ~ 1.0×10^-7 mol·L^-1,检测下限为2.7×10^-11 mol·L^-1. 该传感电极有较高的灵敏度、良好的选择性、重现性和稳定性. 与传统标记型适体传感电极相比,其制作简便,也许还适用于其他小分子和蛋白质的检测,有一定的普适性.     

Electrochemiluminescence biosensor for carcinoembryonic antigen detection based on Au-Ag/g-C3N4 nanocomposites

Herein, an electrochemiluminescence (ECL) aptasensor for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) detection was developed based on Au-Ag/g-C₃N₄ nanocomposites (NCs), which were synthesized by decorating graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) nanosheets with alloy-structured Au-Ag bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) via one-step in situ chemical reduction. As ECL sensing platform, Au-Ag/g-C₃N₄ NCs could significantly improve the ECL intensity of luminol due to the good conductivity of Au-Ag NPs, electrocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the ability to adsorb luminol via π stacking interaction. In addition, it could load the thiol terminated aptamers of CEA via Au-S or Ag-S bonds. In the presence of CEA, the ECL response of the proposed biosensor decreased significantly due to the fact that the assembled protein layers hindered the electron transfer and the diffusion of ECL reactants toward the electrode surface. The proposed ECL sensor exhibited a good linear relationship with CEA in the range of 1.0–1.0 × 10^?6 ng/mL with a detection limit of 8.9 × 10^?7 ng/mL. The satisfactory results were obtained in the detection of CEA in human serum samples.     

液态金属原位引发制备半互穿网络水凝胶构建低污染电化学传感界面

复杂组分在传感界面的非特异性吸附会严重影响传感器的灵敏度与准确度。虽然构建致密的亲水性抗污涂层能够抑制表面非特异性吸附,但是其绝缘性又会显著增大传感界面阻抗,严重削弱响应电流。因此,如何兼顾传感界面抗污性与导电性,构建灵敏的传感基底是电化学免疫传感器目前急需解决的关键问题。为此,利用镓化铟液态金属（Liquid Metal, LM）原位引发乙烯基吡咯烷酮（N-vinylprrolidone, NVP）聚合,同时利用壳聚糖（Chitosan, CS）与聚乙烯基吡咯烷酮（poly（N-vinylprrolidone）, pNVP）之间强烈的氢键结合作用,再分步交联成功获得一种半互穿网络水凝胶传感界面,并以此构建电化学免疫传感器。研究表明,所构建的传感器能够对胃动素实现灵敏检测,线性范围为10 pg/mL~10 μg/mL,检测限为6.91 pg/mL（S/N=3）,并且在5%的血清样品中检测结果不受影响。此外,所构建的免疫传感器也显示出优异的重复性、稳定性和选择性。以上结果成功证明了基于液态金属纳米复合凝胶作为电化学传感基底的可行性,也为其它电化学免疫传感器的构建提供重要的借鉴意义。     

Biofunctionalized dendritic polyaniline nanofibers for sensitive electrochemical immunoassay of biomarkers

Multi-armed dendritic polyaniline nanofibers (MPANFs) were first synthesized and functionalized with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and carcinoembryonic antibody (anti-CEA) for highly efficient electrochemical immunoassay of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA, as a model analyte here) in this work. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques were employed to characterize the synthesized MPANFs. By using anti-CEA-conjugated core-shell gold-Fe(3)O(4) nanocomposites (GoldMag) as immunosensing probes and biofunctionalized MPANFs as molecular tags, a new sandwich-type homogeneous immunoassay strategy was developed for the determination of CEA by coupling with a home-made flow-through magneto-controlled microfluidic device. Under optimal conditions, the electrochemical immunoassay exhibited a wide dynamic range of four orders of magnitude from 1.0 pg mL(-1) to 50 ng mL(-1) with a low detection limit of 0.1 pg mL(-1) CEA at 3σ. Intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were below 10%. The assayed results for clinical serum specimens with the electrochemical immunoassay were received in good accordance with the results obtained from the referenced enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.     

Electrochemical aptasensor for the cancer biomarker CEA based on aptamer induced current due to formation of molybdophosphate

The authors describe a method for signal amplification in electrochemical aptasensors. It is based on the induction of an increased electrochemical current by the aptamer captured on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The phosphate groups on the aptamer backbone are brought to reaction with added molybdate to form a redox-active molybdophosphate precipitate on the surface of the GCE that generates a strong electrochemical current. To further enhance sensitivity, gold nanorods (GNRs) were selected as a support for the immobilization of aptamers. The aptasensor was applied to the determination of the cancer biomarker carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in a sandwich format. Antibody against CEA, CEA (antigen) and GNRs modified with CEA aptamer  were sequentially captured on the GCE. The resulting aptasensor, best operated at a voltage as low as 0.18 V vs. Ag/AgCl, is highly sensitive and has a wide linear range that extends from 0.1 pg·mL^?1 to 10 ng·mL^?1 of CEA. This amplification strategy uses an aptamer as both the recognition probe and signal probe and therefore simplifies signal transduction. Conceivably, this detection scheme may be adapted to numerous other electrochemical bioassays if respective antibodies and aptamers are available.

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Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of an electrochemical aptasensor based on aptamer induced electrochemical current for the detection of cancer biomarker carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Gold nanorods (GNR) are chosen for the immobilization of aptamers to increase the loading of aptamers.

     

Polymerization-assisted signal amplification for electrochemical detection of biomarkers

We present a novel immunosensor by using polymerization-assisted signal amplification strategy coupled with electrochemical detection. A sandwich immunoassay process was used to immobilize a polymerization reaction center, the initiator-conjugated polyclonal prostate specific antigen (PSA) or polyclonal carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) antibodies on the surface of the electrode. Activator generated electron transfer for atom transfer radical polymerization (AGET ATRP) subsequently triggered the local accumulation of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) monomers. Growth of long chain polymers provided excess epoxy groups for electrochemical tags aminoferrocene (FcNH(2)) coupling, which in turn significantly increased the loading of the signal molecules and enhanced the electrochemical readouts. The detection limit was ～0.14 pg mL(-1) for PSA and ～0.10 pg mL(-1) for CEA in PBS buffers. The proposed immunosensor was highly sensitive, selective and has a good match to the clinical electrochemiluminescent method. This suggested that the polymerization-assisted immunosensing strategy could be used as an effective method to significantly enhance signal output of the sandwich immunoassays and acted as a promising platform for the clinical screening of cancer biomarkers.     

基于脂质体信号增强癌胚抗原电化学免疫传感器的研究

研究了在玻碳电极利用巯基乙胺固定纳米金、然后纳米金固载癌胚抗体(Ab1),采用脂质体包裹电子媒介体硫堇,脂质体周围联接标记辣根过氧化物酶(HRP)的癌胚抗体(Ab2)对其传感器进行信号放大,通过循环伏安法考察了该免疫传感器的电化学特性,在优化的实验条件下,该免疫传感器的峰电流随着检测溶液中癌胚抗原(CEA)浓度的增大而增大,并在0.05～200 ng/mL CEA范围内呈现线性关系,回归方程为:Δi=0.20+0.24ρ(ng/mL);检测限为:18pg/mL(R=0.9947)。该免疫传感器可用于临床上对CEA的检测。