Decoration of Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanosheets with Aryldiazonium Salts and Gold Nanoparticles toward a Label-Free Amperometric Immunosensor for Detecting Cytokine Tumor Necrosis Factor-α in Live Cells

Anal Chem. 2016 Oct 4;88(19):9614-9621. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.6b02353. Epub 2016 Sep 21.

Abstract

In this study, a label-free electrochemical immunosensor was developed for detection of cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). First, AuNPs loaded reduced graphene oxides nanocomposites (RGO-ph-AuNP) were prepared, and then, a mixed layer of 4-carbxyphenyl and 4-aminophenyl phosphorylcholine (PPC) was modified to the surface of AuNPs for the subsequent modification of anti-TNF-α capture antibody (Ab1) to form the capture surface (Au-RGO-ph-AuNP-ph-PPC(-ph-COOH)) for the analyte TNF-α with the antifouling property. For reporting the presence of analyte, the anti-TNF-α detection antibody (Ab2) was modified to the graphene oxides which have been modified with the 4-ferrocenylaniline through diazonium chemistry to form Ab2-GO-ph-Fc. Then, a sandwich assay was formed on gold surfaces for the quantitative detection of TNF-α based on the electrochemical signal of ferrocene. X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-vis, and electrochemistry were used for characterization of the stepwise fabrications on the interface. The prepared electrochemical immunosensor was successfully used for the detection of TNF-α over the range of 0.1-150 pg mL-1. The lowest detection limit of this immunosensor is 0.1 pg mL-1 TNF-α in 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 7.0. The fabricated immunosensor provided high selectivity and stability and can be used to detect TNF-α secreted by live BV-2 cells with comparable accuracy to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) but with lower limit of detection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biosensing Techniques
  • Cell Survival
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Diazonium Compounds / chemistry*
  • Electrochemical Techniques
  • Gold / chemistry
  • Graphite / chemistry*
  • Immunoassay*
  • Mice
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Oxides / chemistry*
  • Salts / chemistry
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / analysis*

Substances

  • Diazonium Compounds
  • Oxides
  • Salts
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
  • Gold
  • Graphite