Urchin-like (gold core)@(platinum shell) nanohybrids: A highly efficient peroxidase-mimetic system for in situ amplified colorimetric immunoassay

The development of signal-amplified colorimetric immunoassay relies on the design of highly efficient signal-transduction tags. One promising route is to exploit a novel enzyme mimetic system as the signal label. Herein, we report that urchin-like (gold core)@(platinum shell) nanohybrids (Au@PtNHs) can be utilized as a highly efficient peroxidase mimetic system for in situ amplified colorimetric immunoassay of prostate-specific antigen (PSA, one kind of tumor marker). Initially, urchin-like Au@PtNHs were discovered to outperform horseradish peroxidase (HRP) by a vast margin in terms of the turnover number toward hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) system and the stability against high temperatures and HRP inhibitors. Based on this discovery, the assay was simply carried out on a capture antibody-immobilized microplate by using the Au@PtNH-labeled detection antibody as a signal-transduction tag with a sandwich-type assay mode. The colorimetric signal stemmed from the labeled Au@PtNHs toward catalytic oxidation of TMB-H2O2 system. Experimental results indicated that the Au@PtNH-based colorimetric immunoassay could display a good colorimetric response toward PSA in the dynamic working range of 5-500 pg mL−1 with a low detection limit of 2.9 pg mL−1. Meanwhile, the developed immunoassay exhibited good precision and reproducibility, high specificity and acceptable accuracy for the detection of clinical serum samples. These results open up a new horizon for the development of highly sensitive, highly stable and inexpensive non-enzyme immunoassay platforms as an alternative to conventional enzyme-based immunoassay platforms.