Wenmin Yin

Platinum Dendritic-Flowers Prepared by Tellurium Nanowires Exhibit High Electrocatalytic Activity for Glycerol Oxidation

Dentritic Pt-based nanomaterials with enriched edge and corner atoms have recently attracted considerable attention as electrocatalysts. Meanwhile, Pt(111) facets are generally considered more active for the glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR). Thus, it is significant to construct the rational design and synthesis of dentritic Pt whose surface is mostly enclosed by {111} facets. Reported herein is a unique Pt-branched structure enriched by a large amount of valency unsaturated atoms prepared by the aggravation of the galvanic replacement strategy. The synthesis is developed to generate highly crystallized Pt nanoflowers using Te nanowires as a template. Furthermore, the electrochemical results show that Pt nanoflower is an excellent catalyst with higher mass activity and better structure stability than commercial Pt/C (20% Pt) for glycerol electro-oxidation. Besides, the template-broken approach could provide a novel potential way to synthesize Pt-based or other noble metals/alloys for their advanced functional applications.

Ultrasensitive detection of aflatoxin B1 by SERS aptasensor based on exonuclease-assisted recycling amplification

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is one of the most abundant and carcinogenic food-contaminating mycotoxins around the world. In this study, we proposed a surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing strategy for the determination of AFB1. An aptamer for AFB1 partially hybridized with complementary-DNA, which was released after the recognition of AFB1 and immediately hybridized with hairpin DNA on the surface of sputtering Au film. Exonuclease III hydrolyzed the double-stranded DNA, leaving short single-stranded DNA on the Au surface and releasing complementary-DNA for next ring opening and digestion. SERS tag was captured on Au surface by DNA hybridization. Agarose gel electrophoresis and dynamic light scattering showed that SERS tag was successfully prepared. The detection principle was validated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and SERS at each step. High sensitivity and good selectivity for AFB1 detection were observed. The results showed that there was a good linear relation when the AFB1 concentration was from 1×10-6 to 1ng/mL, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.4 fg/mL. This sensor was also applied for quantifying AFB1 levels in spiked peanuts samples, the recoveries was in the range of 89-121%.

Highly sensitive enzyme-free immunosorbent assay for porcine circovirus type 2 antibody using Au-Pt/SiO2 nanocomposites as labels

Improving the performance of conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is of great importance to meet the demand of early clinical diagnosis of various diseases. Herein, we report a feasible enzyme-free immunosorbent assay (EFISA) system using antibody conjugated Au-Pt/SiO2 nanocomposites (APS NCs) as labels. In this system, Au-Pt/SiO2 nanospheres (APS NPs) were first synthesized by wet chemical method and exhibited intrinsic peroxidase and catalase-like activity with excellent water-solubility. Then APS NCs were utilized as labels to replace HRP conjugated antibody, and Fe3O4 magnetic beads (MBs) to entrap the analyte. To discuss the performance of EFISA system, Human IgG was served as a model analyte, and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) serums as real samples. The system boosted the detection limit of HIgG to 75pgmL(-1) with a RSD below 5%, a 264-fold improvement as compared with conventional ELISA. This is the first time that APS NCs have been used and successfully optimized for the sensitive dilution detection of PCV2 antibody (5:10(7)) in ELISA. Besides, APS NCs have advantages related to low cost, easy preparation, good stability and tunable catalytic activity, which make them a potent enzyme mimetic candidate and may find potential applications in bioassays and clinical diagnostics.

Ultrasensitive SERS detection of Bacillus thuringiensis special gene based on Au@Ag NRs and magnetic beads

Highly sensitive and selective detection of specific DNA sequences is of great importance in clinical diagnosis, environmental and food monitoring, but it still remains challenges to develop a facile method for real sample detection in aqueous solution. Here, a simple and recyclable surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensor was constructed for Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) special gene fragment detection by Fe3O4 magnetic beads (MBs) and Au-Ag core-shell nanorods (Au@Ag NRs). A hairpin DNA with sulfhydryl and biotin was attached to Au@Ag NRs as indicator, and MBs with streptavidin (SA) were acted as the capture probe. On the basis of the biotin-SA specific interaction, target sequences were first hybridized with the hairpin DNA and exposed the biotin. Subsequently, the Au@Ag NRs were captured by the streptavidin modified MBs, which reduced the suspended NRs and led to the change of Raman intensity. Under the optimal conditions, the SERS intensity revealed a good linearity with Bt transgene fragment ranging from 0.1pM to 1nM with a detection limit of 0.14pM (S/N=3). To demonstrate the specificity of the strategy, the single-base mismatch in DNA was discussed in the SERS assay. The results showed that the sensitivity and accuracy of the proposed method was acceptable in DNA detection, revealing a great potential in special gene detection.

Versatile Electrochemiluminescence Assays for PEDV Antibody Based on Rolling Circle Amplification and Ru-DNA Nanotags

The sensitive and accurate detection methods for PEDV antibody have practical significance for the prevention and treatment of PEDV. In this work, a new multiple pathways signal amplification method was proposed to construct a sensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) platform for the detection of PEDV antibody. Using Au NP-modified graphene nanosheet (Au-GN) as the substrate, antibody-antigen reaction as the recognition unit, rolling circle amplification (RCA) for signal enhancement, and assembled cascade Ru-DNA nanotags as signal label, the proposed platform behaved with good specificity and sensitivity. The binding system of biotin-streptavidin, RCA, and Ru(bpy)32+-doped silica nanoparticles (Ru SNPs) showed remarkable amplification efficiency, low background signal, and little nonspecific adsorption. Moreover, the proposed ECL sensor exhibited good analytical performance for PEDV antibody with a wide linear range from 0.1 pg mL-1 to 5000 pg mL-1 with a detection limit of 0.05 pg mL-1 ( S/ N = 3). The proposed strategy exhibited the advantages of excellent stability and sensitivity for determination of the PEDV antibody, which was easy to prepare and had a good application prospect.