Generation of a doxorubicin immunosensor based on a specific monoclonal antibody-nanogold-modified electrode

A highly sensitive immunosensor based on immobilization of specific monoclonal antibodies onto gold nanoparticles (GNPs) attached to a modified gold electrode was developed for the determination of the presence of doxorubicin. Colloidal GNPs were coated on a gold electrode using the thiol groups of 1,6-hexanedithiol (HDT) as a cross-linker. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were employed for characterization of the various layers that were coated onto the electrode. The relative charge transfer resistance of the antibody-modified gold electrode changed linearly with the concentration of doxorubicin. The limit of detection (3 sb/m) was 0.83 pg mL−1, and a linear range was obtained from 1.0 to 160.0 pg mL−1 of doxorubicin. The affinity of doxorubicin for the immobilized antibody was determined to be 1.74 × 1011 M−1. The sensitivity and specificity of the immunosensor was validated using doxorubicin-spiked human serum samples, and the results show that the immunosensor is a useful tool for screening picogram amounts of doxorubicin in the clinical laboratory.

► A highly sensitive immunosensor is proposed for doxorubicin. ► A specific monoclonal antibody is applied as a selective electrode sites. ► As a modifier, GNPs was used for sensitive determination. ► Doxorubicin-spiked human serum sample was successfully determined.