Single-atom Pt-anchored Zn0.5Cd0.5S boosted photoelectrochemical immunoassay of prostate-specific antigen

Bin Li; Libin Guo; Meijuan Chen; Yuanyuan Guo; Lilin Ge; Hang Fai Kwok

doi:10.1016/j.bios.2022.114006

Single-atom Pt-anchored Zn_0.5Cd_0.5S boosted photoelectrochemical immunoassay of prostate-specific antigen

Biosens Bioelectron. 2022 Apr 15:202:114006. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2022.114006. Epub 2022 Jan 20.

Authors

Bin Li¹, Libin Guo², Meijuan Chen³, Yuanyuan Guo³, Lilin Ge⁴, Hang Fai Kwok⁵

Affiliations

¹ Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Avenida da Univesidade, Taipa, Macau SAR.
² Cancer Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Avenida de Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR; MoE Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, University of Macau, Avenida de Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR.
³ Lab of Antitumor Mechanism Investigation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China.
⁴ Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Avenida da Univesidade, Taipa, Macau SAR. Electronic address: gelilin@njucm.edu.cn.
⁵ Cancer Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Avenida de Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR; MoE Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, University of Macau, Avenida de Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR. Electronic address: hfkwok@um.edu.mo.

PMID: 35091371
DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2022.114006

Abstract

Photoelectrochemical immunoassays/immunosensors have been employed for biomarker detection, but most are lack of high-efficiency photo-electron transfer nanomaterials for widespread utilization. Herein we synthesized single-atom platinum-anchored Zn_0.5Cd_0.5S nanostructures to construct an innovative photoelectrochemical (PEC) immunosensor for photocurrent determination of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Improvement of the photocurrent on the sensing interface derived from the ion-exchange reaction between cupric oxide nanoparticle (CuO NP)-labeled secondary antibody and single-atom platinum-anchored Zn_0.5Cd_0.5S. The experimental results showed that the doping of zinc ions and atomically dispersed platinum into CdS could significantly enhance the photocurrent, which further improved the sensitivity of immunoassay. Specifically, upon sensing the target PSA, a CuO-labeled detection antibody was introduced by sandwich immunoreaction and numerous copper ions (Cu²⁺) were released from CuO by acid to participate in the ion-exchange reaction. Thereafter, the ion-exchange reaction between Cu²⁺ ions and single-atom platinum-anchored Zn_0.5Cd_0.5S resulted in the quenching of the photocurrent from single-atom platinum-anchored Zn_0.5Cd_0.5S owing to weak photoactive material Cu_xS formation. Under optimized conditions, single-atom platinum-anchored Zn_0.5Cd_0.5S-based photoelectrochemical immunoassay gave good PEC signals toward PSA from 1.0 to 10000 pg/mL with a limit of detection of 0.22 pg/mL. Additionally, good repeatability, intermediate precision, strong anti-interference and high accuracy (relative to commercialized ELISA kit) for the measurement of human serum specimens were acquired. Importantly, use of single-atom platinum-anchored Zn_0.5Cd_0.5S can provide an important idea for early tumor screening and diagnosis.

Keywords: Atomic-level distribution; Effective charge-separation; Ion-exchange reaction; Photoelectrochemical immunoassays; Zn(0.5)Cd(0.5)S.

MeSH terms

Biosensing Techniques* / methods
Cadmium
Electrochemical Techniques / methods
Humans
Immunoassay / methods
Limit of Detection
Male
Prostate-Specific Antigen*
Zinc

Substances

Cadmium
Prostate-Specific Antigen
Zinc