A novel electrochemical immunosensor was developed for the determination of the hormone prolactin. The design involved the use of screen-printed carbon electrodes and streptavidin-functionalized magnetic particles. Biotinylated anti-prolactin antibodies were immobilized onto the functionalized magnetic particles and a sandwich-type immunoassay involving prolactin and anti-prolactin antibody labelled with alkaline phosphatase was employed. The resulting bio-conjugate was trapped on the surface of the screen-printed electrode with a small magnet and prolactin quantification was accomplished by differential pulse voltammetry of 1-naphtol formed in the enzyme reaction using 1-naphtyl phosphate as alkaline phosphatase substrate. All variables involved in the preparation of the immunosensor and in the electrochemical detection step were optimized. The calibration plot for prolactin exhibited a linear range between 10 and 2000 ng mL(-1) with a slope value of 7.0 nA mL ng(-1). The limit of detection was 3.74 ng mL(-1). Furthermore, the modified magnetic beads-antiprolactin conjugates showed an excellent stability. The immunosensor exhibited also a high selectivity with respect to other hormones. The analytical usefulness of the immnunosensor was demonstrated by analyzing human sera spiked with prolactin at three different concentration levels.
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