A Strategy for the Determination of Alkaline Phosphatase Based on the Self-Triggered Degradation of Metal-Organic Frameworks by Phosphate

Zinc porphyrin/MXene hybrids with phosphate-induced stimuli-responsive behavior for dual-mode fluorescent/electrochemiluminescent ratiometric biosensing

Highly sensitive ratiometric biosensors have attracted much attention in biomarker detection, but most rely on single-mode signals, which can affect accuracy. The development of new principles and methods for dual-mode ratiometric sensing can enhance detection accuracy. Herein, the zinc(II) meso-tetra(4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin/MXene (ZnTCPP/Ti3C2Tx) hybrids with phosphate-induced stimuli-responsive behavior are used to develop a novel dual-mode fluorescent/electrochemiluminescent (FL/ECL) ratiometric biosensor. The composites exhibit FL quenching and enhanced ECL behavior involving dissolved O2. The FL quenching of ZnTCPP/Ti3C2Tx is caused by energy transfer (EnT) and photo-induced electron transfer (PET) from ZnTCPP to Ti3C2Tx. While the introduction of MXene compensates for the inadequate conductivity of ZnTCPP, facilitating electron transfer, which further makes the surface ZnTCPP more capable of activating O2 to produce singlet oxygen (1O2), thereby generating enhanced cathodic ECL. Furthermore, phosphate ions (PO43-) can interact with the Ti sites of ZnTCPP/Ti3C2Tx, leading to competition for coordination with ZnTCPP, which in turn detaches ZnTCPP, resulting in enhanced FL and reduced ECL. On the basis of the phosphate-induced stimuli-responsive behavior, the dual-mode FL/ECL ratiometric biosensing of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is achieved through ALP-catalyzed production of PO43- cascade effect with ZnTCPP/Ti3C2Tx. The linear detection range for ALP is 0.1-50 mU/mL, with a detection limit as low as 0.0083 mU/mL. This proposed ZnTCPP/Ti3C2Tx composites with stimuli-responsive behavior is expected to provide new ideas for the development of high-sensitivity dual-mode ratiometric biosensors with promising applications in the precise detection of important biomarkers.

Distinguishable Colorimetric Biosensor for Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer Bone Metastases

Castration-resistant prostate cancer (PCa) causes severe bone metastasis (BM), which significantly increases mortality in men with PCa. Imaging tests and radiometric scanning require long analysis times, expensive equipment, specialized personnel, and a slow turnaround. New visualization technologies are expected to solve the above problems. Nonetheless, existing visualization techniques barely meet the urgency for precise diagnosis because the human eyes cannot recognize and capture even slight variations in visual information. By using dye differentiated superposition enhancement colorimetric biosensors, an effective method to diagnose prostate cancer bone metastases (PCa-BM) with excellent accuracy for naked-eye quantitative detection of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is developed. The biomarker ALP specific hydrolytic product ascorbic acid can be detected by rhodamine derivatives (Rd) as gold nanobipyramids (Au NBPs) are deposited and grown. Color-recombining enhancement effects between Rd and Au NBPs significantly improved abundance. The 150 U L-1 threshold between normal and abnormal can be identified by color. And with color enhancement effect and double signal response, the ALP index is visually measured to diagnose PCa-BM and provide handy treatment recommendations. Additionally, the proposed colorimetric sensing strategy can be used to diagnose other diseases.

Construction of Aggregation-Induced Emission Molecule-MnO2 Composite Nanoprobe and Its Application in Alkaline Phosphatase Detection

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is among the most studied enzymes by far, playing an important role in the metabolism of organisms and the regulation of protein activity. Herein, a label-free composite nanoprobe is constructed by combining inorganic nanomaterials and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecule to achieve highly sensitive and selective detection of ALP. Negatively charged 9,10-bis [2-(6-sulfonatopropoxyl) naphthylethenyl] anthracene (BSNVA) molecule is synthesized, which has the AIE performance and can be assembled on the surface of amino-SiO₂ nanoparticles through electrostatic interaction for fluorescence enhancement. MnO₂ nanosheets are rich in negative charges, enabling them to be wrapped on the surface of the amino-SiO₂ nanosphere to shield the positive charge on its surface, making it impossible for BSNVA to accumulate on the surface and then weakening the bio-fluorescence of the system. Furthermore, with catalyzed substrates induced by ALP, generating ascorbic acid and the redox reaction between ascorbic acid and MnO₂, the nanoprobe helps in realizing the high-sensitivity detection of ALP with a detection limit of 0.38 mU/mL. The proposed strategy requires no complex cleaning and modification processes and can overcome the quenching effect caused by the aggregation of traditional organic dyes, proving to be a simple, low-cost and "turn-on" fluorescent detection method for ALP.