A "signal-on" photoelectrochemical sensor for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 detection based on Y6/CdS organic-inorganic heterojunction

Dual amplification for PEC ultrasensitive aptasensing of biomarker HER-2 based on Z-scheme UiO-66/CdIn2S4 heterojunction and flower-like PtPdCu nanozyme

As an important prognostic indicator in breast cancer, human epithelial growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) is of importance for assessing prognosis of breast cancer patients, whose accurate and facile analysis are imperative in clinical diagnosis and treatment. Herein, photoactive Z-scheme UiO-66/CdIn2S4 heterojunction was constructed by a hydrothermal method, whose optical property and photoactivity were critically investigated by a range of techniques, combined by elucidating the interfacial charge transfer mechanism. Meanwhile, PtPdCu nanoflowers (NFs) were fabricated by a simple aqueous wet-chemical method, whose peroxidase (POD)-mimicking catalytic activity was scrutinized by representative tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) oxidation in H2O2 system. Taken together, the UiO-66/CdIn2S4 based photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptasensor was established for quantitative analysis of HER-2, where the detection signals were further magnified through catalytic precipitation reaction towards 4-chloro-1-naphthol (4-CN) oxidation (assisted by the PtPdCu NFs nanozyme). The PEC aptasensor presented a broader linear range within 0.1 pg mL-1-0.1 μg mL-1 and a lower limit of detection of 0.07 pg mL-1. This work developed a new PEC aptasensor for ultrasensitive determination of HER-2, holding substantial promise for clinical diagnostics.

Signal amplification strategies in photoelectrochemical sensing of carcinoembryonic antigen

Early detection of cancer markers is critical for cancer diagnosis and cancer therapy since these markers may indicate cancer risk, incidence, and disease prognosis. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a type of non-specific and broad-spectrum cancer biomarker commonly utilized for early cancer diagnosis. Moreover, it serves as an essential tool to assess the efficacy of cancer treatment and monitor tumor recurrence as well as metastasis, thus garnering significant attention for precise and sensitive CEA detection. In recent years, photoelectrochemical (PEC) techniques have emerged as prominent methods in CEA detection due to the advantages of PEC, such as simple equipment requirements, cost-effectiveness, high sensitivity, low interference from background signals, and easy of instrument miniaturization. Different signal amplification methods have been reported in PEC sensors for CEA analysis. Based on these, this article reviews PEC sensors based on various signal amplification strategies for detection of CEA during the last five years. The advantages and drawbacks of these sensors were discussed, as well as future challenges.

A signal-on photoelectrochemical aptasensor based on ferrocene labeled triple helix DNA molecular switch for detection of antibiotic amoxicillin

A sensitive signal-on photoelectrochemical aptasensor for antibiotic determination was constructed based on the energy level matching between ferrocene and CuInS2. P-type CuInS2 microflower was complexed with reduced graphene oxide (CuInS2/rGO) to get photocathode current with good photoelectric conversion efficiency and stability. Then, hairpin DNA (HP) was covalently bonded to the electrode surface. A triple helix DNA (THMS) was used as a molecular switch. After the specific recognition between target and THMS in homogeneous solution, ferrocene labeled probe (Fc-T2) was released. Finally, Fc-T2 was captured by the HP, which leaded the obvious increase of photocurrent for the energy level matching between ferrocene and CuInS2. The increase of the photocurrent signal was proportional to the concentration of target amoxicillin (AMOX), the linear range was 100 fM-100 nM with detection limit of 19.57 fM. Meanwhile, the method has been successfully applied for milk and lake water samples analysis with satisfactory results.

An ultrasensitive ratiometric electrochemical aptasensor based on metal-organic frameworks and nanoflower-like Bi2CuO4 for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 detection

An ultra-sensitive ratiometric electrochemical aptasensor was constructed based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and bimetallic oxides for the detection of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), a breast cancer marker. The aluminum metal-organic framework (Al-MOF) and cerium-metal-organic framework (Ce-MOF) have higher specific surface area, which is conducive to load more aptamers or complementary DNA (cDNA), and realize the amplification of internal reference signal Fc. Furthermore, nanoflower-like bismuth copper oxide (Bi2CuO4) with abundant active sites was introduced to modify more aptamers on its surface, which were then fixed to the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to amplify the detection signal. The quantitative detection of HER2 was achieved by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The materials were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, Zeta potential analyzer, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The ratiometric electrochemical aptasensor based on nanomaterial and chain displacement signal amplification technology could discern HER2 in a very wide range (0.001-20.0 ng/mL) with an extremely low detection limit (0.049 pg/mL) and has demonstrated good performance in clinical serum analysis. This strategy also provides a feasible idea for sensitive analysis of other clinical tumor markers.