A new dual immunoassay for tumor markers based on chemiluminescence signal amplification by magnetic mesoporous silica and enzyme modified gold nanoparticles

A sensitive dual immunoassay was proposed for the determination of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and α-fetoprotein (AFP) based on signal amplification. Monoclonal antibodies immobilized on magnetic mesoporous silica particles (Fe(3)O(4)/SiO(2)) were prepared as the primary probe. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labeled antibodies co-coated with HRP on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were used as the secondary probe to achieve signal amplification. HRP tags were retained in the flow cells after a sandwich immunoassay. By controlling two switches on the two channels, chemiluminescent substrates were injected orderly man way, and then signals for CEA and AFP were sequentially detected by HRP-luminol-H(2)O(2). Due to the increased amount of HRP on AuNPs and the increased amount of monoclonal antibodies on Fe(3)O(4)/SiO(2), the signals were largely amplified. Under the optimal conditions, CEA and AFP could be detected in the linear ranges of 1.0 - 80 and 1.0 - 75 ng mL(-1) with detection limits of 0.25 and 0.5 ng mL(-1), respectively.