Yuxue Dai

Ultrasensitive electrochemical immunoassay for BRCA1 using BMIM·BF4-coated SBA-15 as labels and functionalized graphene as enhancer

BRCAl is an anti-oncogene in women, who are genetically predisposed to breast and ovary cancer. The detection of BRCA1 can offer an opportunity to characterize the function of genetic features in breast and ovarian cancer and to screen breast or ovarian cancer patients. In this study, we designed a new label and fabricated a novel sandwich-type electrochemical immunoassay for the ultrasensitive detection of BRCAl. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was entrapped in the pores of amino-group functionalized SBA-15 and the secondary antibody (Ab₂) combined with SBA-15 by covalent bond. Ionic liquid (IL) was added into the mixed solution of SBA-15/HRP/Ab₂ and application of IL increased the electrochemical activity of HRP and promoted electron transport. The synergistic effect between IL, SBA-15, Ab₂ and HRP could retain the bioactivity of HRP and Ab₂. The sensitivity of the sandwich-type immunosensor using SBA-15/HRP/Ab₂/BMIM·BF₄ as labels for BRCA1 detection was much higher than that using either SBA-15/HRP/Ab₂ or SBA-15/Ab₂ as labels. Under optimal conditions, the electrochemical immunoassay exhibited a wide working range from 0.01 to 15 ng/mL with a detection limit of 4.86 pg/mL BRCA1. The precision, reproducibility, and stability of the immunoassay were acceptable.

Sensitive sandwich electrochemical immunosensor for alpha fetoprotein based on prussian blue modified hydroxyapatite.

A sandwich electrochemical immunosensor for the sensitive determination of alpha fetoprotein (AFP) has been fabricated. Prussian blue modified hydroxyapatite (PB@HAP) was firstly prepared and used as electrochemical label due to the wonderful conductivity and good biocompatibility of HAP. The results proved that the immunosensor fabricated using the label based on PB@HAP loaded with horse radish peroxidase (HRP) and secondary anti-AFP antibody (Ab(2)) (PB@HAP-HRP-Ab(2)) had high sensitivity, and the sensitivity of the label PB@HAP-HRP-Ab(2) was much higher than labels of PB@HAP-Ab(2), PB-HRP-Ab(2) and HAP-HRP-Ab(2). The mixture of graphene sheet (GS) and thionine (TH) was not only used to immobilize anti-AFP antibody (Ab(1)) but also took part in the signal amplification. The amperometric signal increased linearly with AFP concentration in the range of 0.02-8 ng/mL with a low detection limit of 9 pg/mL. The immunosensor had the advantages of high sensitivity, good selectivity and good stability, and was applied to the analysis of AFP in serum sample with satisfactory results. Due to the low-cost and easy synthesis of PB@HAP, the screen-printed electrodes could be used instead of the bare glass carbon electrode in order to achieve mass production. In addition, it had potential application in the detection of other tumor markers.

A novel chemiluminescent flow-injection analysis of transferrin by its reduction of the luminol--hydrogen peroxide reaction catalysed by meso-tetra-(3-methoxyl-4-hydroxyl) phenyl manganese porphyrin.

Based on the inhibition effect of transferrin (Tf) on the reaction of the luminol-hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) chemiluminescence (CL) system, catalysed by meso-tetra-(3-methoxyl-4-hydroxyl) phenyl manganese porphyrin (MnP) as a mimetic enzyme of peroxides, a sensitive flow-injection CL method has been developed for the determination of Tf in an alkaline medium. The CL reaction was carefully investigated by examining the variations of reaction conditions. Under optimum conditions, the linear range for the determination of transferrin was 0.04-20.0 μg/mL and the detection limit was 1.62 ng/mL. This proposed method was sensitive, convenient and simple, and has been successfully applied to the determination of transferrin in a serum sample.

Morphology-dependent Electrochemical Behavior of 18-facet Cu 7 S 4 Nanocrystals Based Electrochemical Sensing Platform for Hydrogen Peroxide and Prostate Specific Antigen

18-facet polyhedron Cu7S4 nanocrystal and CuS sphere were prepared from Cu2O precursor, and CuS flower was synthesized through a simple solvothermal approach. Their electrochemical performances were investigated towards H2O2 and it was interesting to discover that Cu7S4 nanocrystal had the best electrochemical catalysis compared with CuS sphere and CuS flower. It can deduce that the special structure of Cu7S4 nanocrystal endowed it more exposed active points, higher surface area and higher Cu/S ratio. Therefore, Cu7S4 nanocrystal was firstly employed to prepare a nonenzymatic biosensor for H2O2. Satisfactory results were obtained. In addition, a label-free sensing platform for prostate specific antigen (PSA) was constructed based on electrochemical catalysis towards H2O2 of Cu7S4 nanocrystal. The label-free immunosenosr offered accurate PSA in the range of 0.001-15 ng/mL with the detection limit of 0.001 ng/mL. Besides, the immunosensor possessed good sensitivity, selectivity and stability and could detect PSA in real sample. More importantly, this work demonstrated that Cu7S4 nanocrystal hold great promising application in electrochemical sensors.

Studies of Catalytic Kinetic Spectrophotometric Determination of Trace Manganese (II) Sensitized by Microemulsion Medium

A new catalytic kinetic spectrophotometric method for the determination of trace amount of manganese (II) (Mn (II)) in microemulsion medium has been developed. The method is based on the catalytic effect of Mn (II) on the oxidation of nuclear fast red by potassium periodate with Nitrilotriacetic Acid (NTA) as an activitor in the presence of Tween-80/n-butanol/n-heptane microemulsion and HAc-NaAc buffer solution (pH = 5.80). The linear ranges are in the range of 0.800 ~ 4.00 ng/mL of Mn(II) at 520 nm and the detection limit is 1.80 times 10 -10 g/mL. This method can be used in the determination of trace Mn(II) in nutriment, food and different water samples with satisfying results.