A colorimetric aptamer biosensor based on cationic polymer and gold nanoparticles for the ultrasensitive detection of thrombin

• The sensor can be applied to perform thrombin assay in real human serum samples.
• The colorimetric aptasensor presented a high specificity for thrombin.
• The sensor exhibited low detection limit (1 pM) and wide linear range to thrombin (1 pM–10 nM).

A colorimetric assay for the ultrasensitive determination of thrombin based on cationic polymer and gold nanoparticles was presented, in which unmodified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was used as probes and 21-mer thrombin-binding aptamer (TBA) as sensing elements. Upon the addition of thrombin, TBA interacted specifically with thrombin to form a G-quadruplex structure. As a result, the conformation change facilitated the cationic polymer, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA)-induced AuNP aggregation. Thus, the visible change in color from wine-red to blue–purple was readily seen by the naked eye. The colorimetric sensor could detect thrombin down to 1 pM with high selectivity in the presence of other interferring proteins. Furthermore, the assay was successfully employed to determine thrombin in human serum sample, which suggested its great potential for diagnostic purposes.