Au-F127 strawberry-like nanospheres as an electrochemical interface for sensitive detection of carcinoembryonic antigen in real sample

Nanomaterial-based signal-amplification strategies hold a great promise in realizing sensitive biological detection. A simple label-free electrochemical immunosensor for sensitive detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was developed by immobilizing anti-CEA antibodies onto the Au-F127 strawberry-like nanospheres modified glassy carbon electrode (Au-F127/GCE). The Au-F127 strawberry-like nanospheres offered a large surface and multifunctional substrate for the effective immobilization of anti-CEA and the existence of Au could accelerate electron transfer and make the electrochemical signal amplified. The Au-F127 nanocomposites and anti-CEA were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), polycrystalline electron diffraction ring pattern, ultra-violet visible (UV-vis) spectra and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectra. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) were employed to verify the stepwise assembly of the immunosensor and evaluated the analytical performance of the fabricated immunosensor, respectively. The immunosensor showed a wide liner response range between 0.01 and 80 ng mL−1 with a low detection limit of 0.24 pg mL−1 at a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of 3. Additionally, the proposed method was successfully applied to determine CEA in human serum samples with satisfactory results.