A piezoelectric immunoassay based on self-assembled monolayers of cystamine and polystyrene sulfonate for determination of Schistosoma japonicum antibodies

A piezoelectric immunosensor based on an improved immobilization strategy combining self-assembled monolayers (SAM) of cystamine (Cys) and polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) has been developed for the determination of Schistosoma japonicum antibodies (SjAb) in rabbit serum. Cys SAM were first applied to the gold electrode surface of the crystal, serving as a positively-charged base. Schistosoma japonicum antigen (SjAg) was then electrostatically immobilized on the crystal by means of a negatively-charged PSS layer. When sealed by use of an appropriately selected blocking reagent for BSA and normal rabbit serum (NRS), non-specific adsorption could be substantially reduced.The immunosensor was used to determine SjAb in optimized buffer medium with addition of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), which served as an immunoreaction enhancer. It was shown experimentally that SjAg immobilized by the Cys-PSS adsorption procedure had higher immunological activity or binding efficiency than those immobilized by the glutaraldehyde (GLU) binding or direct attachment procedures. The immunosensor developed had satisfactory sensitivity and detection limit, and regeneration of the piezoelectric quartz-crystal was easy. Analytical results obtained with infected rabbit serum samples indicated that the proposed immunosensor is a promising alternative for qualitative and quantitative determination of SjAb in clinical diagnosis of infection with Schistosoma japonicum.