Sensitive immunosensor for tumor necrosis factor α based on dual signal amplification of ferrocene modified self-assembled peptide nanowire and glucose oxidase functionalized gold nanorod

Sensitive electrochemical immunosensor for the detection of protein biomarker tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) was reported that uses ferrocene carboxylic acid (Fc) functionalized self-assembled peptide nanowire (Fc-PNW) as sensor platform and glucose oxidase (GOx) modified gold nanorod (GNR) as label. Greatly enhanced sensitivity is achieved based on a dual signal amplification strategy: first, the synthesized Fc-PNW used as the sensor platform increased the loading of primary anti-TNF-α antibody (Ab1) onto electrode surface due to its large surface area. At the same time, the Fc moiety on the nanowire is used as a mediator for GOx to catalyze the glucose reaction. Second, multiple GOx and secondary anti-TNF-α antibody (Ab2) molecules are bounded onto each GNR to increase the sensitivity of the immunosensor. After the preparation of the immunosensor based on the traditional sandwich protocol, the response of the immunosensor towards glucose was used as a signal to differentiate various concentrations of TNF-α. The resulting immunosensor has high sensitivity, wide linear range (0.005–10 ng/mL) and good selectivity. This immunosensor preparation strategy is a promising platform for clinical screening of protein biomarkers.

► Ferrocene functionalized self-assembled peptide nanowire was synthesized.
► Electrochemical immunosensor was prepared based on the nanowire and gold nanorod.
► Sensitive detection of tumor necrosis factor α was achieved.