A colorimetric aptasensor for CA125 determination based on dual catalytic performance of CeO2 nanozyme confined in macroporous silica foam

Abstract

A portable colorimetric aptasensor was constructed based on the dual catalytic performance of CeO₂ nanozyme to determine carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125). Firstly, CeO₂ nanozyme was synthesized by calcination and ultrasonically dispersed in a macroporous silica foam (MSF) to form CeO₂@MSF. Then the aptamer of CA125 (apt) and complementary DNA (c-DNA) were successively assembled on the CeO₂@MSF to construct a CeO₂@MSF/apt/c-DNA colorimetric aptasensor, which exhibited excellent oxidase-mimic performance and phosphatase-mimic activity simultaneously. In the presence of CA125, the apt specifically binds to target CA125, and the single-strand c-DNA leaves the CeO₂@MSF/apt surface, which is catalytically hydrolyzed by exonuclease I. The produced phosphate ions inhibit the phosphatase-mimic activity of CeO₂ nanozyme. Thus, the absorbance at 652 nm of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine solution containing ascorbic acid-2-phosphate increases with the concentration of CA125. The response is linearly related to the logarithm of CA125 concentration from 1.0 to 10.0 U/mL under optimal experimental conditions. Based on this, the constructed colorimetric aptasensor has a high sensitivity, good selectivity, and high accuracy for CA125 determination in real human serum sample.

Keywords: CeO2 nanozyme; Colorimetric aptasensing; Dual catalytic performances; Inhibition effect; Macroporous silica foam.