Palladium@gold bimetallic nanostructures as peroxidase mimic for development of sensitive fluoroimmunoassay

In this paper, gold nanoparticles coated with palladium dots (Pd@Au) bimetallic nanostructures have been reported to have a peroxidase like activity which is not found in their monometallic counterparts. Based on this finding, we have developed an immunoassay in which antibody-modified Pd@Au nanostructure catalyzes the dimerization of a fluorogenic substrate for peroxidase, 3-(4-dihydroxy phenyl) propionic acid (HPPA), to generate high fluorescence signal. Specific antibodies against bensulfuron-methyl were generated by using a well characterized bensulfuron–protein conjugate as an immunogen, and the assay was performed in a competitive immunoassay format where Pd@Au nanostructure was bound to secondary antibody to show the peroxidase like activity. The developed immunoassay exhibited an excellent sensitivity showing a dynamic response range from 0.001 to 100 ng mL−1 for herbicide bensulfuron-methyl with a detection limit of 0.01 ng mL−1 (n = 3). The newly synthesized bimetallic nanostructure shows the advantages of low cost, easy synthesis and tunable catalytic activity, making it a promising substitution of enzyme peroxidase in different applications.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Peroxidase like property of palladium–gold bimetallic nanostructures has been demonstrated. ► Pd@AuNS based fluoro-immunoassay using fluorogenic peroxidase substrate is developed. ► High sensitivity for fluoro-immunoassay (IC50 ∼ 1.55 ng mL−1) for bensulfuron detection. ► Pd@AuNS can be readily used for the detection of H2O2 for various applications.