AuNPs@MoSe2 heterostructure as a highly efficient coreaction accelerator of electrocheluminescence for amplified immunosensing of DNA methylation

An ultrasensitive ECL immunosensor with a dual signal amplification strategy using AuNPs@GO@SmMoSe2 and Gd2(MoO4)3 for estriol detection

BACKGROUND

Estriol (E3) is a common estrogen responsible for regulating the female reproductive system, but excessive amount can pose health risks to humans and wild life. Therefore, sensitive and accurate detection of estriol level is crucial. A novel competitive ECL immunosensor based on a dual signal amplification strategy of AuNPs@GO@SmMoSe2 and Gd2(MoO4)3 was fabricated for ultrasensitive detection of estriol. Graphene oxide (GO) increased the electric conductivity and surface area of SmMoSe2 and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) improved the electrochemical active sites of GO@SmMoSe2. In order to further amplify the ECL signals, Gd2(MoO4)3 with excellent electron transfer capability were used for binding E3-antigen (Ag). Then, Gd2(MoO4)3-Ag/BSA competed with Standard E3 for limited number of antibodies to construct a competitive ECL immunosensor.

RESULTS

Under optimized condition, the proposed competitive ECL immunosensor was used to detect various concentrations of Standard E3 samples. In addition, the proposed ECL immunosensor showed the high sensitivity for E3 detection in range between 0.001 and 500 ng/mL with the detection limit of 0.0073 ng/mL (S/N = 3). The wider linear range and lower detection limits of the proposed ECL immunosensor might be attributed to outstanding ECL properties of AuNPs@GO@SmMoSe2 and Gd2(MoO4)3 nanosheets. Furthermore, the proposed competitive ECL immunosensor was also compared with various detection methods. Based on above, the fabricated ECL immunosensor was employed for real sample analysis with acceptable RSD values and recoveries.

SIGNIFICANCE

A dual signal amplification strategy enhanced the potential of the well-prepared ECL immunosensor for detecting E3 samples in the real environment. Thereby, the successfully fabricated competitive ECL immunosensor with excellent electrochemical properties, long term storage stability, and high sensitivity and selectivity validated its potential application for environmental monitoring and analysis.

RuSiNPs@N,S-GQDs as self-enhanced anodic electrochemiluminescent immunobeacons for the highly sensitive quantitation of okadaic acid in shellfish

A competitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor is proposed to accurately and rapidly assess okadaic acid (OA) levels in shellfish using a novel self-reinforced solid-state ECL marker, which is essential for ensuring seafood safety. Graphene quantum dots doped with nitrogen and sulfur (N,S-GQDs) were synthesized, for the first time, through the electrolysis of graphite in 3-(N-morpholine) propane sulfonic acid solution. Intriguingly, these N,S-GQDs exhibited exceptional co-reactant properties, significantly enhancing the anodic ECL performance of Ru(bpy)32+ in a phosphate-buffered saline solution. Following the functionalization of Ru(bpy)32+-doped silica nanoparticles (RuSiNPs) with poly(diallyldimethylammonium) chloride, we achieved a well-dispersed assembly of N,S-GQDs on the exterior of the RuSiNPs through electrostatic interactions. Importantly, the core-shell structure of RuSiNPs@N,S-GQDs efficiently encapsulated both the luminophore and co-reactant, thus improving the transfer rates of electrons, shorting interaction distances, and reducing energy loss during light emission. Leveraging this "bright" ECL beacon, the ECL immunosensor demonstrated remarkable analytical performance, yielding a low half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 0.14 ng mL-1, an extensive linear range spanning 0.003-40 ng mL-1, and impressively low limit of detection of 0.001 ng mL-1 for OA determination.

Binary-amplifying electrochemiluminescence sensor for sensitive assay of catechol and luteolin based on HKUST-1 derived CuO nanoneedles as a novel luminophore

Herein, a highly novel and effective electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor based on metal-organic framework (MOF, HKUST-1) derived CuO nanoneedles (HKUST-1 derived CuO NNs), gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and TiO2 was developed for ultrasensitive detection of catechol and luteolin. The HKUST-1 derived CuO NNs were employed as luminophore for the first time, which were successfully fabricated by using HKUST-1 as precursor. The results revealed that the HKUST-1 derived CuO NNs exhibit excellent ECL activity ascribed to its abundant active site and the high specific surface area, thus obviously promoting the separation and transfer of charge and further improving the current density of ECL sensor. To binary-amplify the signal of the ECL sensor, the AuNPs and TiO2 nano-materials with good biocompatibility, great electron transport efficiency and high catalytic activity were used as co-reaction accelerators in the ECL process. Dependent on the above brilliant strategy, the proposed ECL sensor achieved wide linear ranges from 3 × 10-9 - 1 × 10-4 M for catechol and 1 × 10-8 - 2 × 10-4 M for luteolin, with the detection limits of 1.5 × 10-9 M for catechol and 5.3 × 10-9 M for luteolin, respectively. Furthermore, the ECL sensor exhibited outstanding selectivity, repeatability, stability and obtained great feedback on determination of catechol and luteolin in actual samples. The method not only filled a gap in the ECL application of MOF-derived materials but also provided a novel sight for design other highly efficient luminescent materials.

Silver Nanoparticles In Situ Enhanced Electrochemiluminescence of the Porphyrin Organic Matrix for Highly Sensitive and Rapid Monitoring of Tetracycline Residues

Accurate monitoring of tetracycline (TC) residues in the environment is crucial for avoiding contaminant risk. Herein, a novel TC biosensor was facilely designed by integrating silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) into the porphyrin metal-organic matrix (Ag@AgPOM) as a bifunctional electrochemiluminescence (ECL) probe. Different from the step-by-step synthesis of the co-reaction accelerator and ECL emitter, the co-reaction accelerators Ag NPs were in situ-grown on the surface of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (TCPP) via a simple one-pot approach. Symbiotic Ag NPs on Ag@AgPOM formed an intimate interface and increased the collision efficiency of the ECL reaction, achieving the ECL enhancement of TCPP. Under the optimized conditions, the ternary ECL biosensor showed a wide linear detection range toward TC with a low detection limit of 0.14 fmol L-1. Compared with the traditional HPLC and ELISA methods, satisfied analytical adaptability made this sensing strategy feasible to monitor TC in complex environmental samples.

Au/PANI@PtCu-based electrochemical immunosensor for ultrasensitive determination of pro-gastrin-releasing peptide

An ultrasensitive sandwich-type electrochemical immunosensor for pro-gastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRP) detection was constructed based on PtCu nanodendrites functionalized Au/polyaniline nanospheres (Au/PANI@PtCu). The prepared Au/PANI@PtCu nanocomposites not only possessed excellent electro-catalytic activity of H2O2 reduction due to the synergistic effect between the Au/PANI and PtCu NDs but also provided large specific surface area for detection of antibodies (Ab2) immobilization. In addition, Au nanoparticles encapsulated multi-wall carbon nanotubes (AuNPs@MWCNTs) were also applied to modify the glassy carbon electrode interface for loading numerous capture antibodies (Ab1). In the presence of target ProGRP, a sandwich-type electrochemical immunosensor showed a strong current response from the electro-catalysis of Au/PANI@PtCu toward H2O2 reduction. Benefiting from the exceptional electro-catalytic performance of Au/PANI@PtCu and the high conductivity of AuNPs@MWCNTs, the sandwich-type immunoassay exhibited remarkable sensitivity in detection. The linear range extended from 100 fg/mL to 10 ng/mL, while achieving an impressively low limit of detection of 77.62 fg/mL.

Silver Nanocluster-Tagged Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay with a Sole and Narrow Triggering Potential Window

The commercialized electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunoassay is carried out by holding luminophore Ru(bpy)32+ at a given potential. Designing an electrochemiluminophore with a narrow triggering potential window is strongly anticipated to decrease the electrochemical cross-talk and improve the flux of the commercialized ECL immunoassay in a potential-resolved way. Herein, L-penicillamine-capped silver nanoclusters (LPA-AgNCs) are facilely synthesized and utilized as tags to perform the ECL immunoassay with a sole and narrow triggering potential window of 0.24 V by employing hydrazine (N2H4) as a coreactant. The maximum ECL emission of the LPA-AgNCs/N2H4 system is located ca. +1.27 V. Upon immobilizing LPA-AgNCs onto the electrode surface via forming a sandwich immunocomplex, the ECL of LPA-AgNCs/N2H4 can be utilized to sensitively and selectively determine human carcinoembryonic antigen from 0.5 to 1000 pg/mL with a low limit of detection of 0.1 pg/mL (S/N = 3). This work might open a way to screen electrochemiluminophores for the multiple ECL immunoassay in a potential-resolved way.

Controlled Growth of MoS2 on Dendritic Ferric Oxide to Enhance Electrochemiluminescence of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Quantum Dots for Sensitive Immunoassay

The essential expansion of electrochemiluminescence (ECL) technology into clinical detection relies on sensitive and stable signal and maintenance of the activity of the immune molecules during the analysis. This poses a critical challenge for an ECL biosensor as a luminophore in general requires high potential excitation resulting in a strong ECL signal; nevertheless, it has an irreversible effect on the activity of the antigen or antibody. Herein, a novel electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor utilizing nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) as emitters and molybdenum sulfide/ferric oxide (MoS₂@Fe₂O₃) nanocomposites as a coreaction accelerator was developed for detection of neuron-specific enolase (NSE), a biomarker of small cell lung cancer. The doping of nitrogen allows the CQDs to exhibit ECL signals with low excitation potential, with a more viable activity possible for immune molecules. MoS₂@Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites exhibit superior coreaction acceleration characteristics in hydrogen peroxide than any single component of them, and the highly branched dendrite microstructure provides a large number of binding sites for immune molecular, which is an inevitable factor for trace detection. In addition, ion beam sputtering gold particle technology is introduced into the sensor fabrication via an Au-N bond, which will provide sufficient density orientation for capturing the antibody load via the Au-N bonds. With excellent repeatability, stability, and specificity, the as-purposed sensing platform showed differentiated ECL responses of NSE range from 10.00 fg/mL to 500 ng/mL, and the limit of detection (LOD) was calculated of 6.30 fg/mL (S/N = 3). The proposed biosensor is prospective to provide a new avenue for the analysis of NSE or other biomarkers.