A nanohybrid of platinum nanoparticles-porous ZnO-hemin with electrocatalytic activity to construct an amplified immunosensor for detection of influenza

In this work, a nanohybrid of platinum nanoparticles-porous ZnO spheres-hemin (Pt-pZnO-hemin) was synthesized for construction of alkaline phosphatase-based immunosensor for detection of influenza. Briefly, porous ZnO spheres (pZnO) were prepared using soluble starches as the capping agent, followed by surface functionalization of platinum nanoparticles via a hydrothermal method (Pt-pZnO). Then, hemin with carboxylic functionality was spontaneously adsorbed onto Pt-pZnO by ester-like binding between carboxylic group of hemin and ZnO. Compared with platinum nanoparticles and hemin, the resulting Pt-pZnO-hemin nanohybrid showed more excellent electrocatalysis activity toward 1-naphthol (1-NP). Taking advantage of the Pt-pZnO-hemin, we have developed an amplified electrochemical immunosensor based on in situ generation of redox probe by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and Pt-pZnO-hemin as signal enhancer. Herein, electrochemically active 1-NP was generated by enzymatic hydrolysis of inactive 1-naphthyl phosphate by ALP, then Pt-pZnO-hemin was used as catalyst to catalytically oxidize 1-NP, resulting in electrochemical signal amplification. Furthermore, in comparison with other nanomaterials including Au-pZnO, Pt-pZnO and Au-pZnO-hemin, the excellent catalytical property of Pt-pZnO-hemin make it a promising nanohybrid material for ALP-based immunosensor for signal amplification.