A colormetric and fluorescent chemosensor for adenosine-5′-triphosphate based on rhodamine derivative

A rhodamine spirolactam derivative (1) was developed as a colormetric and fluorescent chemosensor for adenosine-5′-triphosphate (ATP) via hydrogen bonds interaction. As far as we know, this is the first case to explore ATP-induced ring-opening of spirolactam in rhodamine derivatives. It exhibited a highly sensitive “turn-on” fluorescent response toward ATP with a 47-fold fluorescence intensity enhancement under 20 equiv. of ATP added. The chemosensor can be applied to the quantification of ATP with a linear range covering from 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ to 2.0 × 10⁻⁴ M and a detection limit of 2.5 × 10⁻⁸ M. The experiment results show that the response behavior of 1 toward ATP is pH independent in medium condition (pH 6.0–8.0). Most importantly, the novel chemosensor has well solved the problem of serious interferences from other nucleoside polyphosphates such as ADP and AMP generally met by previously reported typical fluorescent chemosensors for ATP. Moreover, the response of the chemosensor toward ATP is fast (response time less than 3 min). In addition, the chemosensor can be used for the fluorescence assay for protein kinase activity with satisfactory results. The chemosensor for ATP based on hydrogen bonds interaction provided a novel strategy for the design of colormetric and ratiometric fluorescent probes for other target anions with high sensitivity and selectivity.     

Conductive three-dimensional ordered nano-gold film: Ultrasensitive electrochemical sensing platform for clinical immunoassay

A simple, reusable and ultrasensitive electrochemical clinic immunoassay is proposed via developing a versatile CTDONG (conductive three-dimensional ordered nano-gold) film-modified gold electrode, in which ferrocene derivative and human immunoglobulin G (hIgG) are used as signaling probe and model molecule, respectively. A signal-on signaling mechanism is achieved by utilizing a sandwich format of the primary antibody/hIgG/the secondary antibody labeled with Ferrocene (PAb/Ag/SAb). Owing to the combination of the advantages of CTDONG film with the versatility of ferrocene derivatives, a substantially enhanced signal accompanied by a low background peak current is achieved. By this sensing scheme, target molecule can be readily quantified in a comparatively wide dynamic range (8.1 × 10⁻¹³-6.2 × 10⁻¹⁰ M) with a relatively low detection limit (2.7 × 10⁻¹³ M). In addition to a greatly improved signal gain, this immunosensor gives a favourable reusability and good reproducibility. Moreover, the CTDONG film-based sensing interface shows excellent anti-interference ability to the coexistent proteins. Meanwhile, the recovery test and determination of target molecule in real samples have confirmed the feasibility of designed sensing system for clinic immunoassay of protein molecules, demonstrating the potential application of described CTDONG film in the development of biomolecule assay platforms.     

Electrochemical stripping voltammetry of gold ions for development of ultra-sensitive immunoassay for chlorsulfuron

The paper reports a highly sensitive enzyme free electrochemical immunoassay (EFEIA) for the detection of herbicide chlorsulfuron. The assay is based upon oxidative gold nanoparticle (GNP) dissolution in an acidic solution. The consequent release of large amounts of gold (Au) metal ions after dissolution of gold nanoparticles tagged to antibody leads to the development of sensitive stripping voltammetry based immunoassay. The detection is made possible by the reduction of Au^3 + ions at the screen printed electrode surface followed by metal analysis by using the square wave voltammetry technique. The sensitivity of chlorsulfuron detection by competitive assay procedure was 6.7 pg mL^− 1 for EFEIA in marked contrast to optical detection using Standard ELISA procedure that gives a sensitivity of 4.97 ng mL^− 1.     

Glucose oxidase-functionalized fluorescent gold nanoclusters as probes for glucose

Creation and application of noble metal nanoclusters have received continuous attention. By integrating enzyme activity and fluorescence for potential applications, enzyme-capped metal clusters are more desirable. This work demonstrated a glucose oxidase (an enzyme for glucose)-functionalized gold cluster as probe for glucose. Under physiological conditions, such bioconjugate was successfully prepared by an etching reaction, where tetrakis (hydroxylmethyl) phosphonium-protected gold nanoparticle and thioctic acid-modified glucose oxidase were used as precursor and etchant, respectively. These bioconjugates showed unique fluorescence spectra (λ_{em max} = 650 nm, λ_{ex max} = 507 nm) with an acceptable quantum yield (ca. 7%). Moreover, the conjugated glucose oxidase remained active and catalyzed reaction of glucose and dissolved O₂ to produce H₂O₂, which quenched quantitatively the fluorescence of gold clusters and laid a foundation of glucose detection. A linear range of 2.0 × 10⁻⁶–140 × 10⁻⁶ M and a detection limit of 0.7 × 10⁻⁶ M (S/N = 3) were obtained. Also, another horseradish peroxidase/gold cluster bioconjugate was produced by such general synthesis method. Such enzyme/metal cluster bioconjugates represented a promising class of biosensors for biologically important targets in organelles or cells.     

Quantum dot-enhanced chemiluminescence detection for simultaneous determination of dopamine and epinephrine by capillary electrophoresis

A sensitive method based on quantum dot (QD)-enhanced capillary electrophoresis-chemiluminescence (CE-CL) detection was developed for simultaneous determination of dopamine (DA) and epinephrine (E). In this work, CdTe QD was added into the running buffer of CE to catalyze the post-column CL reaction between luminol and hydrogen peroxide, achieving higher CL emission. Negative peaks were produced due to the inhibitory effects on CL emission from DA and E eluted from the electrophoretic capillary. The decrease in CL intensity was proportional to the concentration of DA and E in the range of 8.0 × 10⁻⁸-5.0 × 10⁻⁶ M and 4.0 × 10⁻⁸-5.0 × 10⁻⁶ M, respectively. Detection limits for DA and E were 2.3 × 10⁻⁸ M and 9.3 × 10⁻⁹ M, respectively. Using this method, the levels of DA and E in human urine from healthy donors were determined.     

Electrochemiluminescence biosensor for the assay of small molecule and protein based on bifunctional aptamer and chemiluminescent functionalized gold nanoparticles

An electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor for simultaneous detection of adenosine and thrombin in one sample based on bifunctional aptamer and N-(aminobutyl)-N-(ethylisoluminol) functionalized gold nanoparticles (ABEI-AuNPs) was developed. A streptavidin coated gold nanoparticles modified electrode was utilized to immobilize biotinylated bifunctional aptamer (ATA), which consisted of adenosine and thrombin aptamer. The ATA performed as recognition element of capture probe. For adenosine detection, ABEI-AuNPs labeled hybridization probe with a partial complementary sequence of ATA reacted with ATA, leading to a strong ECL response of N-(aminobutyl)-N-(ethylisoluminol) enriched on ABEI-AuNPs. After recognition of adenosine, the hybridization probe was displaced by adenosine and ECL signal declined. The decrease of ECL signal was in proportion to the concentration of adenosine over the range of 5.0 × 10⁻¹²–5.0 × 10⁻⁹ M with a detection limit of 2.2 × 10⁻¹² M. For thrombin detection, thrombin was assembled on ATA modified electrode via aptamer–target recognition, another aptamer of thrombin tagged with ABEI-AuNPs was bounded to another reactive site of thrombin, producing ECL signals. The ECL intensity was linearly with the concentration of thrombin from 5 × 10⁻¹⁴ M to 5 × 10⁻¹⁰ M with a detection limit of 1.2 × 10⁻¹⁴ M. In the ECL biosensor, adenosine and thrombin can be detected when they coexisted in one sample and a multi-analytes assay was established. The sensitivity of the present biosensor is superior to most available aptasensors for adenosine and thrombin. The biosensor also showed good selectivity towards the targets. Being challenged in real plasma sample, the biosensor was confirmed to be a good prospect for multi-analytes assay of small molecules and proteins in biological samples.     

Fabrication of polyaniline/carbon nanotube composite modified electrode and its electrocatalytic property to the reduction of nitrite

A polyaniline (PANI)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) composite modified electrode was fabricated by galvanostatic electropolymerization of aniline on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)-modified gold electrode. The electrode thus prepared exhibits enhanced electrocatalytic behavior to the reduction of nitrite and facilitates the detection of nitrite at an applied potential of 0.0 V. Although the amperometric responses toward nitrite at MWNTs/gold and PANI/gold electrodes have also been observed in the experiments, these responses are far less than that obtained at PANI/MWNTs/gold electrode. The effects of electropolymerization time, MWNTs concentration and pH value of the detection solution on the current response of the composite modified electrode toward sodium nitrite, were investigated and discussed. A linear range from 5.0 × 10⁻⁶ to 1.5 × 10⁻² M for the detection of sodium nitrite has been observed at the PANI/MWNTs modified electrode with a sensitivity of 719.2 mA M⁻¹ cm⁻² and a detection limit of 1.0 μM based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 3.     

Fluorescence single-molecule counting assays for protein quantification using epi-fluorescence microscopy with quantum dots labeling

A single-molecule counting approach for quantifying the antibody affixed to a surface using quantum dots and epi-fluorescence microscopy is presented. Modifying the glass substrates with carboxyl groups provides a hydrophilic surface that reacts with amine groups of an antibody to allow covalent immobilization of the antibody. Nonspecific adsorption of single molecules on the modified surfaces was first investigated. Then, quantum dots were employed to form complexes with surface-immobilized antibody molecules and used as fluorescent probes for single-molecule imaging. Epi-fluorescence microscopy was chosen as the tool for single-molecule fluorescence detection here. The generated fluorescence signals were taken by an electron multiplying charge-coupled device and were found to be proportional to the sample concentrations. Under optimal conditions, a linear response range of 5.0 × 10⁻¹⁴-3.0 × 10⁻¹² mol L⁻¹ was obtained between the number of single molecules and sample concentration via a single-molecule counting approach.     

Ultrasensitive detection of ovarian cancer marker using immunoliposomes and gold nanoelectrodes

Mucin-16 (MUC16) is the established ovarian cancer marker used to follow the disease during or after treatment for epithelial ovarian cancer. The emerging science of cancer markers also demands for the new sensitive detection methods. In this work, we have developed an electrochemical immunosensor for antigen MUC16 using gold nanoelectrode ensemble (GNEE) and ferrocene carboxylic acid encapsulated liposomes tethered with monoclonal anti-Mucin-16 antibodies (αMUC16). GNEEs were fabricated by electroless deposition of the gold within the pores of polycarbonate track-etched membranes. Afterwards, αMUC16 were immobilized on preformed self-assembled monolayer of cysteamine on the GNEE via cross-linking with EDC-Sulfo-NHS. A sandwich immunoassay was performed on αMUC16 functionalized GNEE with MUC16 and immunoliposomes. The differential pulse voltammetry was employed to quantify the faradic redox response of ferrocene carboxylic acid released from immunoliposomes. The dose–response curve for MUC16 concentration was found between the range of 0.001–300 U mL⁻¹. The lowest detection limit was found to be 5 × 10⁻⁴ U mL⁻¹ (S/N = 3). We evaluated the performance of this developed immunosensor with commercial ELISA assay by comparing results obtained from spiked serum samples and real blood serum samples from volunteers.     

Expression and characterization of insulin growth factor-I-enhanced green fluorescent protein fused protein as a tracer for immunoassay

The insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is an important polypeptide hormone under investigation for body metabolism study and for doping detection. Here, we describe for the first time the expression of a recombinant fusion protein of IGF-I and the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). The genetic fusion approach enables preparation of conjugates with 1:1 stoichiometry and homogeneous structure. The fused protein (EGFP-IGF-I) was expressed as a soluble protein in cytoplasm of Escherichia coli and its fluorescence and immunoreaction properties were thoroughly characterized. Finally, we demonstrated the utility of the EGFP-IGF-I fusion protein for the fluorescence immunoassay of IGF-1. The linear range of the assay is 1.6 × 10⁻⁸ to 2.0 × 10⁻⁶ M with a detection limit of 1.6 × 10⁻⁸ M. To our knowledge, this is the first time that EGFP has been used as a quantitative label in a fusion protein to develop a quantitative assay for IGF-I. Furthermore, the use of genetically engineered fusion proteins, which combine peptide hormones with fluorescent protein, can lead to a new labeling approach to a number of bioanalytical applications.     

A capacitive immunosensor for detection of cholera toxin

Contamination of food with biological toxins as well as their potential use as weapons of mass destruction has created an urge for rapid and cost effective analytical techniques capable of detecting trace amounts of these toxins. This paper describes the development of a sensitive method for detection of cholera toxin (CT) using a flow-injection capacitive immunosensor based on self-assembled monolayers. The sensing surface consists of monoclonal antibodies against the B subunit of CT (anti-CT), immobilized on a gold transducer. Experimental results show that the immunosensor responded linearly to CT concentrations in the range from 1.0 × 10⁻¹³ to 1.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ M under optimized conditions. The limit of detection (LOD) was 1.0 × 10⁻¹⁴ M. Two more analytical methods were employed for detection of CT using the same antibody namely, sandwich ELISA and surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based immunosensor. The former had an LOD of 1.2 × 10⁻¹² M and a working range from 3.7 × 10⁻¹¹ to 2.9 × 10⁻¹⁰ M whereas, the later had an LOD of 1.0 × 10⁻¹¹ M and a linearity ranging from 1.0 × 10⁻⁹ to 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ M. These results demonstrate that the developed capacitive immunosensor system has a higher sensitivity than the other two techniques. The binding affinity of CT to the immobilized anti-CT was determined using the SPR-based immunosensor and an association constant (K_A) of 1.4 × 10⁹ M⁻¹ was estimated.     

An electrochemical immunosensor for carcinoembryonic antigen enhanced by self-assembled nanogold coatings on magnetic particles

A quick and reproducible electrochemical-based immunosensor technique, using magnetic core/shell particles that are coated with self-assembled multilayer of nanogold, has been developed. Magnetic particles that are structured from Au/Fe₃O₄ core-shells were prepared and aminated after a reaction between gold and thiourea, and additional multilayered coatings of gold nanoparticles were assembled on the surface of the core/shell particles. The carcinoembryonic antibody (anti-CEA) was immobilized on the modified magnetic particles, which were then attached on the surface of solid paraffin carbon paste electrode (SPCE) by an external magnetic field. This is an assembly of a novel immuno biosensor for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The sensitivity and response features of this immunoassay are significantly affected by the surface area and the biological compatibility of the multilayered nanogold. The linear range for the detection of CEA was from 0.005 to 50 ng mL⁻¹ and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.001 ng mL⁻¹. The LOD is approximately 500 times more sensitive than that of the traditional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for CEA detection.     

Investigation of the electrochemical and electrocatalytic behavior of positively charged gold nanoparticle and L-cysteine film on an Au electrode

Positively charged gold nanoparticle (positively charged nano-Au), which was prepared, characterized by ξ-potential and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used in combination with l-cysteine to fabricate a modified electrode for electrocatalytic reaction of biomolecules. Compared with electrodes modified by negatively charged gold nanoparticle/l-cysteine, or l-cysteine alone, the electrode modified by the positively charged gold nanoparticle/l-cysteine exhibited excellent electrochemical behavior toward the oxidation of biomolecules such as ascorbic acid, dopamine and hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, the proposed mechanism for electrocatalytic response of positively charged gold nanoparticle was discussed. The immunosensor showed a specific to ascorbic acid in the range 5.1 × 10⁻⁷-6.7 × 10⁻⁴ M and a low detection limit of 1.5 × 10⁻⁷ M. The experimental results demonstrate that positively charged gold nanoparticle have more efficient electrocatalytic reaction than negatively charged gold nanoparticle, which opens up new approach for fabricating sensor.     

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     

Gold nanoparticles modified indium tin oxide electrode for the simultaneous determination of dopamine and serotonin: Application in pharmaceutical formulations and biological fluids

A new rapid, convenient and sensitive electrochemical method based on a gold nanoparticles modified ITO (Au/ITO) electrode is described for the detection of dopamine and serotonin in the presence of a high concentration of ascorbic acid. The electrocatalytic response was evaluated by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and the modified electrode exhibited good electrocatalytic properties towards dopamine and serotonin oxidation with a peak potential of 70 mV and 240 mV lower than that at the bare ITO electrode, respectively. The selective sensing of dopamine is further improved by applying square wave voltammetry (SWV) which leads to the lowering of its detection limit. A similar effect on the detection limit of serotonin was observed on using SWV. Linear calibration curves are obtained in the range 1.0 × 10⁻⁹-5.0 × 10⁻⁴ M and 1.0 × 10⁻⁸-2.5 × 10⁻⁴ M with a detection limit of 0.5 nM and 3.0 nM for dopamine and serotonin, respectively. The Au/ITO electrode efficiently determines both the biomolecules simultaneously, even in the presence of a large excess of ascorbic acid. The adequacy of the developed method was evaluated by applying it to the determination of the content of dopamine in dopamine hydrochloride injections. The proposed procedure was also successfully applied to simultaneously detect dopamine and serotonin in human serum and urine.     

Ultrasensitive cysteine sensing using citrate-capped CdS quantum dots

The importance of cysteine (Cys) in biological systems has stimulated a great deal of efforts in the development of analytical methods for the determination of this amino acid. In this work, a novel fluorescent probe for Cys based on citrate (Cit)-capped CdS quantum dots (QDs) is reported. The Cit-capped CdS QDs fluorescent probe offers good sensitivity and selectivity for detecting Cys. A good linear relationship was obtained from 1.0 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹ to 5.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹ for Cys. The detection limit was calculated as 5.4 × 10⁻⁹ mol L⁻¹. The proposed method was applied to detect Cys in human urine samples, which showed satisfactory results. This assay is based on both the lability of Cit and the strong affinity of thiols to the surface of CdS QDs. The addition of Cys improved the passivation of the surface traps of CdS QDs and enhanced the fluorescence intensity.     

Immuno-capture and in situ detection of Salmonella typhimurium on a novel microfluidic chip

The new method presented in this article achieved the goal of capturing Salmonella typhimurium via immunoreaction and rapid in situ detection of the CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) labeled S. typhimurium by self-assembly light-emitting diode-induced fluorescence detection (LIF) microsystem on a specially designed multichannel microfluidic chip. CdSe/ZnS QDs were used as fluorescent markers improving detection sensitivity. The microfluidic chip developed in this study was composed of 12 sample channels, 3 mixing zones, and 6 immune reaction zones, which also acted as fluorescence detection zones. QDs–IgG–primary antibody complexes were generated by mixing CdSe/ZnS QDs conjugated secondary antibody (QDs–IgG) and S. typhimurium antibody (primary antibody) in mixing zones. Then, the complexes went into immune reaction zones to label previously captured S. typhimurium in the sandwich mode. The capture rate of S. typhimurium in each detection zone was up to 70%. The enriched QDs-labeled S. typhimurium was detected using a self-assembly LIF microsystem. A good linear relationship was obtained in the range from 3.7 × 10 to 3.7 × 10⁵ cfu mL⁻¹ using the equation I = 0.1739 log (C) − 0.1889 with R² = 0.9907, and the detection limit was down to 37 cfu mL⁻¹. The proposed method of online immunolabeling with QDs for in situ fluorescence detection on the designed multichannel microfluidic chip had been successfully used to detect S. typhimurium in pork sample, and it has shown potential advantages in practice.     

High sensitive determination of zinc with novel water-soluble small molecular fluorescent sensor

A high sensitive method of quantitative analysis for the determination of zinc in the nutrition supplements has been developed by using a novel water-soluble fluorescent sensor HQ3: (8-pyridylmethyloxy-2-methyl-quinoline). Under the optimized condition of 67 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, and 5% (v/v) DMSO, the zinc concentration showed good linear relationship with fluorescence intensity in the range of 7.5 × 10⁻⁸ to 2.5 × 10⁻⁵ M with the detection limit of 1.5 × 10⁻⁸ M. HQ3 exhibited high selectivity to zinc comparing with other metal ions except for cadmium. The developed analytical method was successfully used for determining the content of zinc in a real sample of zinc gluconate solution of Sanchine.     

Preparation and characterization of a polyclonal antibody from rabbit for detection of trinitrotoluene by a surface plasmon resonance biosensor

A polyclonal antibody against trinitrophenyl (TNP) derivatives was raised in rabbit, and the antibody was applied to detection of trinitrotoluene (TNT) using a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor. TNP-keyhole limpet hemocyanine (TNP-KLH) conjugate was injected into a rabbit, and a polyclonal anti-TNP antibody was realized after purification of the sera using protein G. Aspects of the anti-TNP antibody against various nitroaromatic compounds, such as cross-reactivities and affinities, were characterized. The temperature dependence of the affinity between the anti-TNP antibody and TNT was also evaluated. The quantification of TNT was based on the principle of indirect competitive immunoassay, in which the immunoreaction between the TNP-β-alanine-ovalbumin (TNP-β-ala-OVA) and anti-TNP antibody was inhibited in the presence of free TNT in solution. TNP-β-ala-OVA was immobilized to the dextran matrix on the Au surface by amine coupling. The addition of a mixture of free TNT to the anti-TNP antibody was found to decrease the incidence angle shift due to the inhibitory effect of TNT. The immunoassay exhibited excellent sensitivity for the detection of TNT in the concentration range of 3 × 10⁻¹¹ to 3 × 10⁻⁷ g/ml. To increase the sensitivity of the sensor, anti-rabbit IgG antibody was used. After flowing the mixture of free TNT and anti-TNP antibody, anti-rabbit IgG antibody was injected, and the incidence angle shift was measured. Amplification of the signal was observed and the detection limit was improved to 1 × 10⁻¹¹ g/ml.     

A novel ratiometric fluorescent Fe sensor based on a phenanthroimidazole chromophore

Phenanthroimidazole derivative 1 has been developed as a rare example of ratiometric fluorescent sensors for Fe³⁺. Interestingly, upon treatment with Fe³⁺, the sensor displayed a ratiometric fluorescent response with an enhancement of the ratios of emission intensities at 440 and 500 nm from 0.36 to 3.24. The detection range of the sensor for Fe³⁺ is in the 1.0 × 10⁻⁵-1.5 × 10⁻⁴ M concentration range and the detection limit is 5.26 × 10⁻⁶ M. In addition, the sensor showed good selectivity to Fe³⁺ with the selectivity coefficients (KFe3+=SFe3+/S₀) of Fe³⁺ over other metal ions tested in the range of 5-68.