Pt@AuNPs integrated quantitative capillary-based biosensors for point-of-care testing application

Current diagnostic technologies primarily rely on bulky and costly analytical instruments. Therefore, cost-effective and portable diagnosis tools that can be used for point-of-care tests (POCT) are highly desirable. In this study, we report a cost-effective, portable capillary-based biosensor for quantitative detection of biomarkers by the naked eye. This capillary-based biosensor was tested by measuring the distance of blue ink movement, which was directly correlated with the oxygen (O2) produced by efficient core-shell Pt@Au nanoparticles (Pt@AuNPs) catalysts decomposed hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). By linking the Pt@AuNPs with antibodies, capillary-based biosensor sandwich immunoassays were constructed. The concentrations of the target proteins were positively correlated with the distances of ink movement. To demonstrate their performance, the biosensors were used to detect the cancer biomarker sprostate-specific antigen (PSA) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The linear detection range (LDR) of the capillary-based biosensor for detecting PSA was from 0.02 to 2.5 ng/mL, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.017 ng/mL. LDR of the biosensor for detecting CEA was from 0.063 to 16 ng/mL, and the LOD was 0.044 ng/mL. For detection of PSA and CEA in clinical serum samples, the detection results of the capillary-based biosensor were well correlate with the results from of chemiluminescence immunoassays (CLIAs). Thus, the capillary-based biosensor may potentially be a useful strategy for point-of-care testing, in addition to being portable and cost effective.