A novel, label-free immunosensor for the detection of α-fetoprotein using functionalised gold nanoparticles

Background and objectivesNovel immunoassay methods based on electrochemical sensors have been developed, but most of these immunosensors are unsuitable for clinical detection because their preparation requires complicated chemical procedures and because their detection sensitivity is restricted. In order to develop a highly sensitive, label-free amperometric sensor for immunoassays, we synthesised novel, functionalised gold nanoparticles (SV-GNP) by covalently capping the surface of gold nanoparticles (GNP) with 1,1′-bis-(2-mercapto)-4,4′-bipyridinium dibromide, a kind of sulfhyrdryl viologen (SV).Design and methodsWe fabricated an immunosensor in a multi-step fashion, by first coating the SV-GNP onto a glassy carbon electrode surface; the resulting electrode core could then adsorb a suitable antibody in a second step to afford the desired immunosensor. α-fetoprotein (AFP) was used as a model analyte in this work.ResultsThe anti-AFP/SV-GNP-modified electrode was sensitive to AFP with a linear relationship between 1.25 and 200 ng/mL and a correlation coefficient of 0.9983; the detection limit at a signal to noise ratio of 3 was 0.23 ng/mL under optimal conditions. In addition, the proposed immunosensor exhibited good sensitivity, selectivity, stability and long-term maintenance of bioactivity.ConclusionThe described immunosensor preparation and immunoassay methods offer promise for label-free, simple, and cost-effective analysis of biological samples.