Polyethyleneimine-Functionalized Platinum Nanoparticles with High Electrochemiluminescence Activity and Their Applications to Amplified Analysis of Biomolecules

Optical Image Sensors for Smart Analytical Chemiluminescence Biosensors

Optical biosensors have emerged as a powerful tool in analytical biochemistry, offering high sensitivity and specificity in the detection of various biomolecules. This article explores the advancements in the integration of optical biosensors with microfluidic technologies, creating lab-on-a-chip (LOC) platforms that enable rapid, efficient, and miniaturized analysis at the point of need. These LOC platforms leverage optical phenomena such as chemiluminescence and electrochemiluminescence to achieve real-time detection and quantification of analytes, making them ideal for applications in medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food safety. Various optical detectors used for detecting chemiluminescence are reviewed, including single-point detectors such as photomultiplier tubes (PMT) and avalanche photodiodes (APD), and pixelated detectors such as charge-coupled devices (CCD) and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensors. A significant advancement discussed in this review is the integration of optical biosensors with pixelated image sensors, particularly CMOS image sensors. These sensors provide numerous advantages over traditional single-point detectors, including high-resolution imaging, spatially resolved measurements, and the ability to simultaneously detect multiple analytes. Their compact size, low power consumption, and cost-effectiveness further enhance their suitability for portable and point-of-care diagnostic devices. In the future, the integration of machine learning algorithms with these technologies promises to enhance data analysis and interpretation, driving the development of more sophisticated, efficient, and accessible diagnostic tools for diverse applications.

Nanozyme-based electrochemical biosensors for disease biomarker detection

In recent years, a new group of nanomaterials named nanozymes that exhibit enzyme-mimicking catalytic activity has emerged as a promising alternative to natural enzymes. Nanozymes can address some of the intrinsic limitations of natural enzymes such as high cost, low stability, difficulty in storage, and specific working conditions (i.e., narrow substrate, temperature and pH ranges). Thus, synthesis and applications of hybrid and stimuli-responsive advanced nanozymes could revolutionize the current practice in life sciences and biosensor applications. On the other hand, electrochemical biosensors have long been used as an efficient way for quantitative detection of analytes (biomarkers) of interest. As such, the use of nanozymes in electrochemical biosensors is particularly important to achieve low cost and stable biosensors for prognostics, diagnostics, and therapeutic monitoring of diseases. Herein, we summarize the recent advances in the synthesis and classification of common nanozymes and their application in electrochemical biosensor development. After briefly overviewing the applications of nanozymes in non-electrochemical-based biomolecular sensing systems, we thoroughly discuss the state-of-the-art advances in nanozyme-based electrochemical biosensors, including genosensors, immunosensors, cytosensors and aptasensors. The applications of nanozymes in microfluidic-based assays are also discussed separately. We also highlight the challenges of nanozyme-based electrochemical biosensors and provide some possible strategies to address these limitations. Finally, future perspectives on the development of nanozyme-based electrochemical biosensors for disease biomarker detection are presented. We envisage that standardization of nanozymes and their fabrication process may bring a paradigm shift in biomolecular sensing by fabricating highly specific, multi-enzyme mimicking nanozymes for highly sensitive, selective, and low-biofouling electrochemical biosensors.

Formation of fluorescent platinum nanoclusters using hyper-branched polyethylenimine and their conjugation to antibodies for bio-imaging

Fluorescent Pt NCs@PEI were formed in the cavities coiled by PEI ligands and bio-imaged HeLa cells via conjugation with antibodies.

Highly efficient colorimetric detection of target cancer cells utilizing superior catalytic activity of graphene oxide-magnetic-platinum nanohybrids

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) have most widely been applied in immunoassays for several decades. However, several unavoidable limitations (e.g., instability caused by structural unfolding) of natural enzymes have hindered their widespread applications. Here, we describe a new nanohybrid consisting of Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs), simultaneously immobilized on the surface of graphene oxide (GO). By synergistically integrating highly catalytically active Pt NPs and MNPs on GO whose frameworks possess high substrate affinity, the nanohybrid is able to achieve up to a 30-fold higher maximal reaction velocity (V(max)) compared to that of free GO for the colorimetric reaction of the peroxidase substrate, 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), and enable rapid detection of target cancer cells. Specifically, using this new assay system, clinically important breast cancer cells are detected in a 5 min time period at room temperature with high specificity and sensitivity. The remarkably high capability to catalyze oxidation reactions could allow the nanohybrid to replace conventional peroxidase-based immunoassay systems as part of new, rapid, robust and convenient assay systems which can be widely utilized for the identification of important target molecules.

A highly efficient colorimetric immunoassay using a nanocomposite entrapping magnetic and platinum nanoparticles in ordered mesoporous carbon

Nanocomposite to achieve ultrafast immunoassay: a new synergistically integrated nanocomposite consisting of magnetic and platinum nanoparticles, simultaneously entrapped in mesoporous carbon, is developed as a promising enzyme mimetic candidate to achieve ultrafast colorimetric immunoassays. Using new assay system, clinically important target molecules, such as human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and diarrhea-causing rotavirus, can be detected in only 3 min at room temperature with high specificity and sensitivity.

Chemical ligation of oligodeoxynucleotides by X-irradiation and its application to regulation of G-quadruplex formation

We demonstrated radiolytic ligation of oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) possessing disulfide bond and its application to regulation of DNA quadruplex formation. G-rich hexamer ODNs had poor ability to form quadruplex, while X-irradiation of the ODNs induced interstrand exchange reaction at disulfide bond to form ligated 12 mer ODNs, leading to the ready formation of quadruplex due to the entropic effect. Since complexation of the ligated ODNs with hemin in the presence of K(+) showed strong soret band absorption and also catalyzed the H(2)O(2)-mediated oxidation of luminol, it appears that the quadruplex formed from ligated ODNs showed a function similar to native DNA quadruplex.

Enhanced electrochemiluminescence quenching of CdS:Mn nanocrystals by CdTe QDs-doped silica nanoparticles for ultrasensitive detection of thrombin

This work reports an aptasensor for ultrasensitive detection of thrombin based on remarkably efficient energy-transfer induced electrochemiluminescence (ECL) quenching from CdS:Mn nanocrystals (NCs) film to CdTe QDs-doped silica nanoparticles (CdTe/SiO(2) NPs). CdTe/SiO(2) NPs were synthesized via the Stöber method and showed black bodies' strong absorption in a wide spectral range without excitonic emission, which made them excellent ECL quenchers. Within the effective distance of energy scavenging, the ECL quenching efficiency was dependent on the number of CdTe QDs doped into the silica NPs. Using ca. 200 CdTe QDs doped silica NPs on average of 40 nm in diameter as ECL quenching labels, attomolar detection of thrombin was successfully realized. The protein detection involves a competition binding event, based on thrombin replacing CdTe/SiO(2) NPs labeled probing DNA which is hybridized with capturing aptamer immobilized on a CdS:Mn NCs film modified glassy carbon electrode surface by specific aptamer-protein affinity interactions. It results in the displacement of ECL quenching labels from CdS:Mn NCs film and concomitant ECL signal recovery. Owing to the high-content CdTe QDs in silica NP, the increment of ECL intensity (ΔI(ECL)) and the concentration of thrombin showed a double logarithmic linear correlation in the range of 5.0 aM∼5.0 fM with a detection limit of 1aM. And, the aptasensor hardly responded to antibody, bovine serum albumin (BSA), haemoglobin (Hb) and lysozyme, showing good detection selectivity for thrombin. This long-distance energy scavenging could have a promising application perspective in the detection of biological recognition events on a molecular level.

Electrochemiluminescence of tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium and its applications in bioanalysis: a review

Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) [Ru(bpy)(3) (2+)] is an active research area and includes the synthesis of ECL-active materials, mechanistic studies and broad applications. Extensive research has been focused on this area, due to its scientific and practical importance. In this mini-review we focus on the bio-related applications of ECL. After a brief introduction to Ru(bpy)(3) (2+) ECL and its mechanisms, its application in constructing an effective bioassay is discussed in detail. Three types of ECL assay are covered: DNA, immunoassay and functional nucleic acid sensors. Finally, future directions for these assays are discussed.

Base-pairing directed folding of a bimolecular G-quadruplex: new insights into G-quadruplex-based DNAzymes

Base pairs, magic hands: An additional base-pairing duplex is utilized to control the folding topologies of a bimolecular G-quadruplex formed by two G-rich single-stranded DNAs (see picture), which is dependent on the position of base pairs. This study clearly reveals an important intrinsic role of additional base pairs in the G-quadruplex structure, and also provides a clue to the formation mechanism of the G-quadruplex-based DNAzyme.