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 electrochemical immunosensor of carcinoembryonic antigen based on gold-label silver-stain signal amplification

A novel gold-label silver-stain electrochemical immunosensor based on polythionine-gold nanoparticles (PTh-Au NPs) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) as a platform and secondary antibody labeled Au NPs (Ab₂-Au NPs) as immumoprobe for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) detection. The sandwich-type biosensor adopted anodic stripping voltammetry to detect silver stripping signal when the Ab₂-Au NPs of the formed immunocomplexes were stained with silver.     

Electrochemical immuno-bioanalysis for carcinoma antigen 125 based on thionine and gold nanoparticles-modified carbon paste interface

A novel electrochemical immunosensor for the determination of carcinoma antigen 125 (CA125) was developed by means of immobilizing CA125 antibody (anti-CA125) on gold nanoparticles (Au) and thionine (Thi)-modified carbon paste interface. To avoid the leak of hydrophilic gold nanoparticles and thionine from carbon paste interface, the Au-Thi-modified carbon paste electrodes (CPEs) were first treated in the mixture solution containing 10% HNO₃ and 2.5% K₂Cr₂O₇ for 1.5 min at +1.5 V to make the carbon surface with -COOH groups, which can react with -NH₂ groups on the thionine molecule, in the meantime, gold nanoparticles were absorbed on the thionine surface. Subsequently, CA125 antibodies were assembled onto the surface of gold nanoparticles. The fabrication process of the immunosensor was characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. The performance and factors influencing the performance of the immunosensor were studied in detail. A direct electrochemical immunoassay format was employed to detect CA125 antigen based on the current change before and after the antigen-antibody reaction. The current change was proportional to CA125 concentration ranging from 10 to 30 U/ml with a detection limit of 1.8 U/ml (at 3δ). The immunosensors were used to analyze CA125 in human serum specimens. Analytical results of clinical samples show that the developed immunoassay has a promising alternative approach for detecting CA125 in the clinical diagnosis.     

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.     

Ultrasensitive electrochemical immunosensor for zeranol detection based on signal amplification strategy of nanoporous gold films and nano-montmorillonite as labels

Nano-montmorillonites belong to aluminosilicate clay minerals with innocuity, high specific surface area, ion exchange, and favorable adsorption property. Due to the excellent properties, montmorillonites can be used as labels for the electrochemical immunosensors. In this study, nano-montmorillonites were converted to sodium montmorillonites (Na-Mont) and further utilized for the immobilization of thionine (TH), horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and the secondary anti-zeranol antibody (Ab₂). The modified particles, Na-Mont-TH-HRP-Ab₂ were used as labels for immunosensors to detect zeranol. This protocol was used to prepare the immunosensor with the primary antibody (Ab₁) immobilized onto the nanoporous gold films (NPG) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface. Within zeranol concentration range (0.01–12 ng mL⁻¹), a linear calibration plot (Y = 0.4326 + 8.713 X, r = 0.9996) was obtained with a detection limit of 3 pg mL⁻¹ under optimal conditions. The proposed immunosensor showed good reproducibility, selectivity, and stability. This new type of immunosensors with montmorillonites and NPG as labels may provide potential applications for the detection of zeranol.     

基于离子液体-石墨烯-二茂铁的高灵敏电化学免疫传感器检测CEA

研究了在PBS缓冲介质中,一种检测癌胚抗原的新型免标记免疫电化学传感器的制备,将石墨烯、二茂铁的高效催化及壳聚糖的优良生物相容性和成膜性、离子液体的导电性等优势充分结合构建了电化学免疫传感器。通过循环伏安法及交流阻抗对修饰的电极进行表征,在最优条件下,癌胚抗原的质量浓度在0.2～50.0 ng/mL的范围内与差分脉冲伏安法峰电流呈良好的线性关系,回归方程为Δi=0.38-1.31ρ,相关系数分别为0.9967,检测限为0.06 ng/mL,该传感器可用于人血清样品的测定。     

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.     

Determination of carcinoembryonic antigen using a novel amperometric enzyme-electrode based on layer-by-layer assembly of gold nanoparticles and thionine

Electrochemical sensing of carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA)on a gold electrode modified by the se- quential incorporation of the mediator,thionine(Thi),and gold nanoparticles(nano-Au),through co- valent linkage and electrostatic interactions onto a self-assembled monolayer configuration is de- scribed in this paper.The enzyme,horseradish peroxidase(HRP),was employed to block the possible remaining active sites of the nano-Au monolayer,avoid the non-specific adsorption,instead of bovine serum albumin(BSA),and amplify the response of the antigen-antibody reaction.Electrochemical ex- periments indicated highly efficient electron transfer by the imbedded Thi mediator and adsorbed nano-Au.The HRP kept its activity after immobilization,and the studied electrode showed sensitive response to CEA and high stability during a long period of storage.The working range for the system was 2.5 to 80.0 ng/mL with a detection limit of 0.90 ng/mL.The model membrane system in this work is a potential biosensor for mimicking the other immunosensor and enzyme sensor.     

Nanosilver-doped DNA polyion complex membrane for electrochemical immunoassay of carcinoembryonic antigen using nanogold-labeled secondary antibodies

A simple and sensitive electrochemical immunoassay protocol was developed for the detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) using nanosilver-doped DNA polyion complex membrane (PIC) as sensing interface. To construct such an immunosensor, double-stranded DNA was initially assembled onto the surface of thionine/Nafion-modified screen-printed carbon electrode to adsorb silver ions with positive charges, then silver ions were reduced to nanosilver particles with the aid of NaBH₄, and then anti-CEA antibodies were immobilized on the nanosilver surface. Gold nanoparticles conjugated with horseradish peroxidase-labeled anti-CEA were employed as signal antibodies for the detection of CEA with a sandwich-type assay format. Under optimal conditions, the immunosensor exhibited a dynamic range of 0.03-32 ng mL⁻¹ with a low detection limit of 10 pg mL⁻¹ CEA. Intra- and inter-assay imprecision (CVs) were <9.5% and 6.5%, respectively. The response could remain 90.1% of the original current at 30th day. 50 real samples were evaluated using the immunosensor and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively, and received in accordance with those two methods.     

基于纳米金/壳聚糖/石墨烯的癌胚抗原阻抗型免疫传感器

研究了在PBS缓冲介质中,一种检测癌胚抗原的新型免标记阻抗型免疫传感器的制备及应用,基于石墨烯、纳米金在玻碳电极表面组装制备传感器,通过循环伏安法、交流阻抗法对制备的传感器进行表征。在优化的实验条件下,该免疫传感器的阻抗值随着检测溶液中癌胚抗原(CEA)浓度的增大而增大,并在0.1～85 ng/mL CEA范围内呈线性关系,回归方程为△Ret=1605.55+39.26ρ;检测限为0.04 ng/mL(R=0.9992)。该免疫传感器可用于临床上对CEA的检测。     

A novel piezoelectric immunosensor for detection of carcinoembryonic antigen

A simple, rapid, and highly sensitive immunosensor for the direct determination of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in human serum using a piezoelectric crystal has been developed and optimized. In order to improve sensitivity of the immunosensor, a protein A-based orientation-controlled immobilization method for antibodies was adopted together with an immunoreactive accelerant of polyethyleneglycol (PEG) used to amplify the signal response of frequency. Human normal serum was utilized as a reference background. The linear range for CEA concentration obtained by the end-point method was 66.7-466.7 ng/mL. Clinical samples from cancer patients were analyzed by the proposed piezoelectric immunoassay, and the analytical results were reasonably comparable with those obtained by the chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA). The proposed immunosensor provides a new promising method for the highly sensitive immunoassay of CEA in clinical laboratory.     

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。     

Nanoplatinum-enclosed gold nanocores as catalytically promoted nanolabels for sensitive electrochemical immunoassay

Here we designed a new electrochemical immunoassay protocol for determination of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) using nanoplatinum-enclosed gold nanocores (Pt@Au) as catalytically promoted nanolabels on the carbon nanospheres and graphene-modified immunosensor. The Pt@Au nanolabels were synthesized and functionalized with monoclonal anti-CEA antibodies and glucose oxidase (GOx). Using the functional Pt@Au nanolabels as molecular tags, the assay was implemented relative to glucose–hydroquinone system with a sandwich-type immunoassay. Initially, the added glucose was oxidized to gluconolactone and H₂O₂ by the labeled GOx, and then the generated H₂O₂ was reduced with the help of platinum nanoparticles, leading to the production of oxygen. The self-produced oxygen could promote the re-oxidation of the glucose, thus resulting in the dual amplification of the electrochemical signal. Several nanolabels, such as multiarmed star-like platinum nanowires, hollow platinum nanospheres and Pt@Au nanostructures, were investigated for CEA detection and improved analytical features were obtained with the Pt@Au nanostructures. Under optimal conditions, the Pt@Au-based immunoassay displayed a wide working range from 0.001 to 120 ng mL⁻¹ with a low detection limit of 0.5 pg mL⁻¹ CEA at 3s_B. Intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were <10.9%. The system was evaluated with 10 clinical serum samples, receiving good accordance with results from enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method.     

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.     

A novel electrochemical immunosensor based on colabeled silica nanoparticles for determination of total prostate specific antigen in human serum

A novel electrochemical immunosensor using functionalized silica nanoparticles (Si NPs) as protein tracer has been developed for the detection of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in human serum. The immunosensor was carried out based on a heterogeneous sandwich procedure. The PSA capture antibody was immobilized on the gold electrode via glutaraldehyde crosslink. After reaction with the antigen in human serum, Si NPs colabeled with detection antibody and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was sandwiched to form the immunocomplex on the gold electrode. ALP carried by Si NPs convert nonelectroactive substrate into the reducing agent and the latter, in turn, reduce metal ions to form electroactive metallic product on the electrode. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) was used to quantify the amount of the deposited silver and give the analytical signal for PSA. The parameters including the concentration of the ALP used to functionalize the Si NPs and the enzyme catalytic reaction time have been studied in detail and optimized. Under the optimum conditions of immunoreaction and electrochemical detection, the electrochemical immunosensor was able to realize a reliable determination of PSA in the range of 1–35 ng/mL with a detection limit of 0.76 ng/mL. For six human serum samples, the results performed with the electrochemical immunosensor were in good agreement with those obtained by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA), indicating that the electrochemical immunosensor could satisfy the need of practical sample detection.     

A rapid and highly sensitive portable chemiluminescent immunosensor of carcinoembryonic antigen based on immunomagnetic separation in human serum

To detect a biomarker for lung cancer, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a highly sensitive, selective, rapid and portable immunosensor based on immunomagnetic separation and chemiluminescence immunoassay was introduced. A sandwich scheme assay has been utilized with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labeled anti-CEA antibody and immunomagnetic beads (IMBs). The presence of target protein CEA caused the formation of the sandwich structures (IMBs-CEA-HRP labeled antibody). IMBs were applied to capture CEA and immobilize CEA through the external magnetic field. The HRP at the surface of the antibody catalytically oxidized the luminescence substrate to generate optical signals which were detected by a portable home-made luminometer and which were directly proportional to the concentration of CEA in the samples. The signals were dependent on CEA concentrations in a linear range from 0 to 50 ng mL⁻¹. The limit of detection (LOD) of this method was as low as 5.0 pg mL⁻¹ (S/N = 3). The novel immunosensor was highly sensitive with an assay time of <35 min. The intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were <10%. The anti-CEA antibody can be bound to the bead efficiently with a conjugation rate of 73%. IMBs could be stored in 4 °C protecting from light for 2 months without obvious reduction of biological activity. Human reference sera mixed with various concentrations of CEA were tested with the proposed method and commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit, and a good linear relationship was obtained. This proposed technique demonstrated an excellent performance for quantifying CEA and was expected to be used for clinical testing.     

A designer ormosil gel for preparation of sensitive immunosensor for carcinoembryonic antigen based on simple direct electron transfer

The excellent direct electron transfer (DET) of enzyme labeled to antibody immobilized in designer organically modified silicate (ormosil) sol–gel was achieved at an electrode, which was used to construct a novel reagentless immunosensor for antigen determination. The synthesized ormosil architecture provided a hydrophilic interface for retaining the activity of immobilized enzyme labeled immunocomponent. The proposed immunosensor for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) prepared by immobilizing horseradish peroxidase-labeled CEA antibody (HRP-anti-CEA) in the architecture showed a surface-controlled electrode process attributed to the DET between electrode and HRP with a rate constant of 5.94 ± 0.40 s⁻¹. The formation of immunocomplex upon incubation in CEA or sample solution led to block of DET and linearly decrease in voltammetric response over CEA concentration ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 and 3.0 to 120 ng ml⁻¹. The limit of detection for CEA was 0.4 ng ml⁻¹. The immunosensor showed good accuracy and acceptable storage stability, precision and reproducibility. The proposed method was simple, low-cost and potentially attractive for clinical immunoassays.     

Electrochemical immunoassay of hepatitis B surface antigen by the amplification of gold nanoparticles based on the nanoporous gold electrode

We describe herein the combination of electrochemical immunoassay using nanoporous gold (NPG) electrode with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labeled secondary antibody-gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) bioconjugates for highly sensitive detection of protein in serum. The electroactive product of o-phenylenediamine (OPD) oxidized with H₂O₂ catalyzed by HRP was reduced in the Britton-Robinson (BR) buffer and the peak current of which was used to determine the concentration of antigen (Ag) in the analyte. The active surface area of NPG electrode was larger than that of a bare flat one. The presence of AuNPs enhanced the immobilized amount of HRP labeled antibody (Ab), which improved the sensitivity of the immunoassay when used as the secondary antibodies. As a result of these two combined effects, the sensitivity of the immunoassay for the determination of target protein was increased significantly. Using hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) as a model, we demonstrate a dose response in the range of 0.01-1.0 ng/mL with a detection limit of 2.3 pg/mL. Analytical results of several human serum samples obtained using the developing technique are in satisfactory agreement with those given by enzyme-linked immune-absorbent assays (ELISA). In addition, the technique was about 100 times more sensitive in the detection of HBsAg than ELISA. All these demonstrated the feasibility of the present immunoassay method for clinical diagnosis.     

Carbon nanotube-based symbiotic coaxial nanocables with nanosilica and nanogold particles as labels for electrochemical immunoassay of carcinoembryonic antigen in biological fluids

A feasible and practicable amperometric immunoassay strategy for sensitive screening of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in human serum was developed using carbon nanotube (CNT)-based symbiotic coaxial nanocables as labels. To construct such a nanocable, a thin layer of silica nanoparticles was coated on the CNT surface by sonication and sol-gel methods, and then colloidal gold nanoparticles were assembled on the amino-functionalized SiO₂/CNTs, which were used for the label of horseradish peroxidase-anti-CEA conjugates (HRP-anti-CEA-Au/SiO₂/CNT). In the presence of analyte CEA, the sandwich-type immunocomplex was formed on an anti-CEA/Au/thionine/Nafion-modified glassy carbon electrode by using HRP-anti-CEA-Au/SiO₂/CNTs as detection antibodies. To embody the advantages of the protocol, the analytical properties of variously modified electrodes were compared in detail on the basis of different nanolabels. Under optimal conditions, the cathodic peak currents of the electrochemical immunosensor were proportional to the logarithm of CEA concentration over the range from 0.01 to 12 ng mL⁻¹ in pH 5.5 HAc-NaAc containing 5 mM H₂O₂. At a signal-to-noise ratio of 3, the detection limit (LOD) is 5 pg mL⁻¹ CEA. Intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were below 9.5%. Meanwhile, the selectivity and stability of the immunosensor were acceptable. In addition, the technique was evaluated by spiking CEA standards in pH 7.4 PBS and with 35 clinical serum specimens, receiving excellent accordance with results from commercially available electrochemiluminescent enzyme-linked immunoassay.     

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.