New antibodies immobilization system into a graphite-polysulfone membrane for amperometric immunosensors

Polysulfone membrane is used for the first time for the preparation of electrochemical immunosensors. A disposable immunosensor based on a porous conductor polymer graphite-polysulfone-electrode has been developed using a phase inversion technique for the determination of anti-rabbit IgG (anti-RIgG) as a model analyte. To construct the sensor, a conductor membrane was deposited on the surface of working graphite-epoxy composite (GEC) electrode. The membrane was characterized by SEM. This sensor was based on the competitive assay between free and labeled anti-RIgG for the available binding sites of immobilized rabbit IgG (RIgG). Incubation parameters were optimized in this work. The immunological reaction was detected using an enzymatic-labeling procedure (HRP enzyme) combined with the amperometric detection using H(2)O(2) as substrate and hydroquinone as mediator. This sensor shows stability during a week and a good reproducibility. The current was monitored amperometrically at -0.1 V versus SCE and this method showed a linear range of the anti-RIgG from 1 to 6 microg/ml. The detection limit was determined to be 0.77 microg/ml.     

Direct electrochemistry of horseradish peroxidase bonded on a conducting polymer modified glassy carbon electrode

Direct electron transfer process of immobilized horseradish peroxidase (HRP) on a conducting polymer film, and its application as a biosensor for H2O2, were investigated by using electrochemical methods. The HRP was immobilized by covalent bonding between amino group of the HRP and carboxylic acid group of 5,2':5',2"-terthiophene-3'-carboxylic acid polymer (TCAP) which is present on a glassy carbon (GC). A pair of redox peaks attributed to the direct redox process of HRP immobilized on the biosensor electrode were observed at the HRPmid R:TCAPmid R:GC electrode in a 10 mM phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.4). The surface coverage of the HRP immobilized on TCAPmid R:GC was about 1.2 x 10(-12) mol cm(-2) and the electron transfer rate (ks) was determined to be 1.03 s(-1). The HRPmid R:TCAPmid R:GC electrode acted as a sensor and displayed an excellent specific electrocatalytic response to the reduction of H2O2 without the aid of an electron transfer mediator. The calibration range of H2O2 was determined from 0.3-1.5 mM with a good linear relation.     

Electrochemical microdevice with separable electrode and antibody chips for simultaneous detection of pepsinogens 1 and 2

An electrochemical microdevice with separable electrode and antibody chips has been developed and applied to detect atrophic gastritis-related proteins, pepsinogen 1 (PG1) and pepsinogen 2 (PG2), based on sandwich-type enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) with horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled antibody. To fabricate the electrochemical device for simultaneous analysis of several proteins, the electrode chip with eight electrode elements was assembled along with an antibody chip with eight cavities containing immobilized anti-PG1 or anti-PG2. The immunoreactions occurring in the cavities of the device were detected simultaneously by amperometry. The labeled HRP in the cavity in the presence of hydrogen peroxide catalyzed the oxidation of ferrocenemethanol (FMA) to FMA+, which was detected electrochemically by the electrode chip. The amperometric responses of respective cavities in the device increased with increasing concentration of PG1 or PG2 of 0-50 ng/ml, ensuring the simultaneous detection of PG1 and PG2. The detection limits for both PG1 and PG2 were 0.6 ng/ml (S/N=2). The electrode chip was recovered easily by disassembling the electrochemical device; thereby, it was used repeatedly, whereas the antibody chip was discarded. No marked decrease in electrochemical responses was detected after repeated use. Reuse of the electrode chip is beneficial to reduce costs of protein analysis.     

An amperometric immunosensor based on an electrochemically pretreated carbon-paraffin electrode for complement III (C3) assay

An electrochemical immunosensor based on the adsorption of anti-complement III antibody onto an electrochemical pretreated carbon-paraffin electrode has been proposed for the detection of complement III (C(3)). The competitive immunoassay format was adopted with horseradish peroxide-C(3) (HRP-C(3)) as a tracer, 3,3'5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and hydrogen peroxide as the enzyme substrates. In order to measure the amount of HRP-C(3) binding onto the electrode surface, the product of the enzyme catalytic reaction was detected at 100 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl reference electrode). The system was optimized to realize a reliable determination of C(3) in the range of 0.06-10 microg/ml. It exhibits some advantages, such as simplicity of fabrication, rapidity of measurement, and satisfactory sensitivity and reproducibility.     

A disposable electrochemical immunosensor for flow injection immunoassay of carcinoembryonic antigen

A new simple immunoassay method for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) detection using a disposable immunosensor coupled with a flow injection system was developed. The immunosensor was prepared by coating CEA/colloid Au/chitosan membrane at a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE). Using a competitive immunoassay format, the immunosensor inserted in the flow system with an injection of sample and horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled CEA antibody was used to trap the labeled antibody at room temperature for 35 min. The current response obtained from the labeled HRP to thionine-H(2)O(2) system decreased proportionally to the CEA concentration in the range of 0.50-25 ng/ml with a correlation coefficient of 0.9981 and a detection limit of 0.22 ng/ml (S/N=3). The immunoassay system could automatically control the incubation, washing and current measurement steps with good stability and acceptable accuracy. Thus, the proposed method proved its potential use in clinical immunoassay of CEA.     

Reagentless amperometric immunosensor for human chorionic gonadotrophin based on direct electrochemistry of horseradish peroxidase

A novel amperometric immunosensor for determination of human serum chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) was constructed by immobilization of HCG with titania sol-gel on a glassy carbon electrode and the direct electrochemistry of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labeled to HCG antibody (HRP-anti-HCG). The morphologies of the HCG membrane were characterized to be chemically clean, porous and homogeneous. HRP-anti-HCG was functionally conjugated with the immobilized HCG after incubation in phosphate buffer (PBS) containing HRP-anti-HCG. A direct electron transfer of HRP with a rate constant of 1.35+/-0.40 s(-1) was observed at the HRP-anti-HCG-HCG/titania sol-gel membrane modified electrode in 0.1 M PBS pH 7.0. With a competitive mechanism the differential pulse voltammetric peak current of the immobilized HRP decreased linearly with an increasing HCG concentration from 2.5 to 12.5 mIU/ml in the incubation solution. The HCG immunosensor showed a detection limit of 1.4 mIU/ml, a good accuracy and acceptable precision and reproducibility with an intra-assay CV of 4.7% at 5.0 mIU/ml and an inter-assay precision of 8.1% obtained at 10 mIU/ml. The biosensor displayed a good stability in a storage period of 30 days.     

Electrically contacted enzyme based on dual hairpin DNA structure and its application for amplified detection of Hg2+

In the present study, based on a dual hairpin DNA structure, a novel system of electrically contacted enzyme and its signal amplification for ultrasensitive detection of Hg(2+) was demonstrated. In the presence of Hg(2+), with the interaction of thymine-Hg(2+)-thymine (T-Hg(2+)-T), DNA sequence dully labeled with ferrocene (Fc) at 5' end and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) at 3' end, hybridized to the capture probe and formed the dual hairpin structure on the electrode. Fc unit acts as a relay that electrically contacts HRP with the electrode and activates the bioelectrocatalyzed reduction of H(2)O(2). And based on the bioelectrocatalyzed signal amplification of the presented system, Hg(2+) could be quantitatively detected in the range of 10(-10)-10(-6)M with a low detection limit of 52 pM. And it also demonstrated excellent selectivity against other interferential metal ions.     

An amperometric immunosensor for osteoproteogerin based on gold nanoparticles deposited conducting polymer

An amperometric immunosensor was fabricated for the detection of osteoproteogerin (OPG) by covalently immobilizing a monoclonal OPG antibody (anti-OPG) onto the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) deposited functionalized conducting polymer (5,2′:5′,2″-terthiophene-3′-carboxylic acid). AuNPs were electrochemically deposited onto the conducting polymer using cyclic voltammetry. The particle size of deposited AuNPs was controlled by varying the scan rate and was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The immobilization of anti-OPG was also confirmed using XPS. The principle of immunosensor was based on a competitive immunoassay between free-OPG and labeled-OPG for the active sites of anti-OPG. HRP was used as a label that electrochemically catalyzes the H₂O₂ reduction. The catalytic reduction was monitored amperometrically at −0.4 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The immunosensor showed a linear range between 2.5 and 25 pg/ml and the detection limit was determined to be 2 pg/ml. The proposed immunosensor was successfully applied for real human samples to detect OPG.     

Development of a new and simple method for the detection of histidine-tagged proteins

To develop a general method for the detection of histidine-tagged proteins, the interactions of the histidine epitope tag of MutH and MutL proteins with the epitope specific monoclonal anti-His6 antibody were monitored by a label-free direct method using impedance spectroscopy. The immunosensor was fabricated by covalent coupling of the antibody on a conducting polymer coated electrode surface. The impedance of the antibody modified electrode was decreased after binding to the histidine-tagged proteins. The specificity of the sensor was demonstrated by showing that no impedance change was occurred when the sensor was exposed to both of non-tagged MutH and MutL proteins. The specific interaction was further characterized using quartz crystal microbalance studies. Based on impedance measurements, the linear ranges were obtained from 50.0 to 125.0 and 50.0 to 250.0 micorg/ml, for His-tag MutH and His-tag MutL proteins, respectively. The detection limits were determined to be 37.8 and 59.1 microg/ml, for His-tag MutH and His-tag MutL proteins, respectively.     

Capillary electrophoretic enzyme immunoassay with electrochemical detection using a noncompetitive format

A capillary electrophoretic enzyme immunoassay with electrochemical detection (CE-EIA-ED) using a noncompetitive format has been developed. In this method, antigen (Ag) reacts with an excess amount of horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled antibody (Ab*). The free Ab* and the bound Ag-Ab* complex produced in the solution are separated by capillary zone electrophoresis in a separation capillary. Then they catalyze enzyme substrate 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzide (TMB(Red)) and H(2)O(2) in a reaction capillary following the separation capillary. The reaction product, TMB(Ox), can be determined using amperometric detection on a carbon fiber microdisk bundle electrode at the outlet of the reaction capillary. Due to the amplification of the enzyme, a significant amount of TMB(Ox) can be produced for detection. Therefore, the limit of detection (LOD) of CE-EIA-ED is very low. A tumor marker (CA15-3) was used as a model, in order to test the method. The concentration LOD of CA15-3 is 0.024 U/ml, which corresponds to a mass detection limit of 1.3x10(-7) U.     

A separation-free amperometric immunosensor for vitellogenin based on screen-printed carbon arrays modified with a conductive polymer

A disposable amperometric immunosensor was studied for the rapid detection of carp (Carassius auratus) Vitellogenin (Vtg). The sensor was fabricated based on screen-printed carbon arrays (SPCAs) containing eight carbon working and an integrated carbon counter electrodes. To construct the sensor, a conducting polymer (poly-terthiophene carboxylic acid) was electropolymerized on the surface of working electrodes and the polymer-coated SPCAs was characterized by SEM. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and a monoclonal antibody (anti-Vtg) specific to carp Vtg were covalently attached onto the polymer modified SPCAs. The immobilization of HRP and anti-Vtg onto the polymer-coated SPCAs was examined using cyclic voltammetry and quartz crystal microbalance studies. In order to detect the amount of Vtg, glucose oxidase (GOx)-labelled Vtg bound to the sensor surface under competition with the Vtg analyte was quantified amperometrically using glucose as a substrate. The performance of the eight sensors in arrays was evaluated by obtaining the calibration plots for Vtg. The sensor arrays exhibit a linear range of the Vtg concentration from 0.25 to 7.8 ng/ml and the detection limit was determined to be 0.09 ng/ml. Furthermore, the performance of the immunosensor for the determination of Vtg was evaluated by a standard addition method performed in fish serum samples.     

Amperometric immunosensor based on polypyrrole/poly(m-pheylenediamine) multilayer on glassy carbon electrode for cytokinin N6-(Delta2-isopentenyl) adenosine assay

A novel immunosensor based on a multilayer-coated glassy carbon electrode was designed to determine isopentenyl adenosine (iPA) in plants. The multilayer consists of polypyrrole and poly(m-phenylenediamine) with K4Fe(CN)6 and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) entrapped during electropolymerization. The ferrocyanide doped in polypyrrole functions as the mediator. The glucose oxidase bound on the immunosensor by the competitive immunoreaction involving iPA catalyzed the oxidation of the added glucose with the formation of H2O2, which is in turn reduced in the presence of HRP entrapped in poly(m-phenylenediamine). The current of the oxidized production of ferrocyanide reduced at -50 mV is inversely proportional to the concentration of iPA in the competitive immunoreaction. This immunosensor is able to be used about 40 times; after that its surface can be regenerated for a new immunosensor assembly by washing with 0.1M citrate-phosphate buffer (pH 4.6). The percentage of current response reduction (CR%) (y) is linearly related to the logarithm of the concentration of iPA (x) in the 5-300 microg/ml range, with a regression equation of the form y = 42.13x - 27.79 and a correlation coefficient of 0.9861. Five hybrid rice grain samples were analyzed with results in satisfactory agreement to those obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography.     

An electrochemical stripping metalloimmunoassay based on silver-enhanced gold nanoparticle label

A novel, sensitive electrochemical immunoassay has been developed based on the precipitation of silver on colloidal gold labels which, after silver metal dissolution in an acidic solution, was indirectly determined by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) at a glassy-carbon electrode. The method was evaluated for a noncompetitive heterogeneous immunoassay of an immunoglobulin G (IgG) as a model. The influence of relevant experimental variables, including the reaction time of antigen with antibody, the dilution ratio of the colloidal gold-labeled antibody and the parameters of the anodic stripping operation, upon the peak current was examined and optimized. The anodic stripping peak current depended linearly on the IgG concentration over the range of 1.66 ng ml(-1) to 27.25 microg ml(-1) in a logarithmic plot. A detection limit as low as 1 ng ml(-1) (i.e., 6 x 10(-12) M) human IgG was achieved, which is competitive with colorimetric enzyme linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) or with immunoassays based on fluorescent europium chelate labels. The high performance of the method is attributed to the sensitive ASV determination of silver (I) at a glassy-carbon electrode (detection limit of 5 x 10(-9) M) and to the catalytic precipitation of a large number of silver on the colloidal gold-labeled antibody.     

Simultaneous determination of 3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxyuridine and novel prodrugs in rat plasma by liquid chromatography

3'-Azido-2',3'-dideoxyuridine (AZDU) is a nucleoside analog structurally similar to zidovudine (AZT) with proven activity against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method to quantitatively determine AZDU and its novel prodrugs in rat plasma simultaneously. A reversed-phase gradient elution HPLC method was developed to quantitate AZDU and its prodrugs, N3-pivaloyloxymethyl-3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxyuridine (I), 5'-pivaloyloxymethyl-3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxyuridine (II), 5'-O-valinyl-3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxyuridine hydrochloride (III) and 5'-O-phenylalanyl-3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxyuridine hydrochloride (IV), in rat plasma. AZDU and its prodrugs were analyzed using an octadecyl silane column with a mobile phase consisting of 0.04 microM sodium acetate buffer, pH 5.0, and acetonitrile, running in a segmented gradient manner at a flow rate of 2 ml/min. Acetonitrile was increased from 10 to 50% during the first 8 min by 5% per min, followed by 10% per min until it reached 90% acetonitrile. 3'-Azido-2',3'-dideoxy-5-ethyluridine (CS-85) was used as an internal standard (25 microg/ml). Compounds were detected by UV absorption at 261 nm. Extraction recoveries for all compounds were greater than 80%. Retention times of AZDU, CS-85, prodrugs I, II, III and IV were 3.3, 5.2, 9.1, 8.8, 6.3 and 7.3 min, respectively. Calibration plots were linear over the range of 0.25-100 microg/ml for AZDU and prodrugs II, III, and IV and 0.5-100 microg/ml for prodrug I. The limit of quantitation was 0.25 microg/ml for prodrugs II, III and IV and 0.5 microg/ml for prodrug I. The intra- and inter-day variations were less than 10% and accuracies were greater than 90%. This method is rapid, sensitive and reproducible for the determination of AZDU and prodrugs in rat plasma.     

An acylated phloroglucinol with antimicrobial properties from Helichrysum caespititium

A new acylated form of a phloroglucinol with significant antimicrobial properties was isolated by bioactivity guided fractionation from Helichrysum caespititium (Asteraceae). The structure elucidation, and conformation of the new phloroglucinol, 2-methyl-4-[2',4',6'-trihydroxy-3'-(2-methylpropanoyl) phenyl]but-2-enyl acetate, was established by high field NMR spectroscopic and MS data. The compound inhibited growth of Bacillus cereus, B. pumilus, B. subtilis and Micrococcus kristinae at the very low concentration of 0.5 microg/ml and Staphylococcus aureus at 5.0 microg/ml. Six fungi tested were similarly inhibited at low MICs, Aspergillus flavus and A. niger (1.0 microg/ml), Cladosporium chladosporioides (5 microg/ml), C. cucumerinum and C. sphaerospermum (0.5 microg/ml) and Phylophthora capsici at 1.0 microg/ml.     

Recognition of glycoprotein peroxidase via Con A-carrying self-assembly layer on gold

We have successfully fabricated a self-assembled layer of concanavalin A (Con A) on a gold surface for recognition of glycoproteins. The type IV Con A is covalently bound to 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) on gold with a 2-(5-norbornene-2,3-dicarboximido)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium tetrafluoroborate (TNTU) linkage. The binding interaction between glycoproteins and self-assembled Con A is studied using horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as a model glycoprotein. Voltammetric, electrochemical impedance studies, and photometric activity measurements show the presence of both specific and nonspecific bindings of HRP to the Con A interface. The specific binding is attributed to the Con A-sugar interaction where Con A selectively recognizes the glycosylation sites of HRP. The catalytic current of the HRP-loaded electrode, because of catalytic oxidation of thionine in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), is found to be proportional to the HRP concentrations in the incubation solution. A linear correlation coefficient of 0.993 was obtained over a wide HRP concentration range of 12.5 microg/mL to 1 mg/mL. The approach described in this study provides a simple yet selective means to immobilize glycoproteins on a solid support. The specific binding achieved is desirable in biosensor fabrication, glycoprotein separation, recognition, and purification as well as in drug-releasing systems.     

Bioactivity of horseradish peroxidase entrapped in silica nanospheres

Interest in the fabrication of micro/nanoreactors for evaluation of the function of biomolecules in biological processes, enzymatic reaction kinetics occurring inside the nanospace is rapidly increasing. With a simple reverse-micelle microemulsion method, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), a model biomolecule, was herein skillfully confined in silica nanoshells (HRP@SiO(2)) and its biocatalytical behaviors were investigated in detail. Spectroscopic measurements showed that the entrapped HRP molecules retained their native structure and had high enzymatic activity toward 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) with Michaelis constant (K(m)) of 3.02 × 10(-5) mol L(-1). The entrapped HRP displayed a good direct electron transfer behavior and sensitive electrocatalytic response toward the reduction of H(2)O(2), which could be enhanced using thionine and o-phenylenediamine (o-PD) as electron mediators. When using thionine as mediator, the mass transport between the substrates in electrolyte and HRP confined in silica nanospheres through the mesoporous tunnels was slower than that of o-PD, which slowed down the electron transfer between heme in HRP in the confined nanospace and the electrode, and resulted in low sensitivity to H(2)O(2) with thionine as mediator when compared to o-PD.     

Development of an immunosensor for the detection of vitellogenin using impedance spectroscopy

A simple and direct immunosensor for the determination of carp (Carassius auratus) vitellogenin (Vtg), a female-specific protein, has been proposed based on an antibody-captured conducting polymer-coated electrode. The monoclonal antibody specific to carp (C. auratus) Vtg was immobilized by covalent coupling to the carboxylic acid group on the polymer. The antibody immobilization and antibody-antigen interaction have been demonstrated by means of quartz crystal microbalance and impedance spectroscopic techniques. The impedance change occurred at the sensor surface due to the specific immuno-interaction was utilized to determine Vtg. The sensor showed high selectivity and sensitive response to Vtg in a buffered medium without redox probe. Vtg was determined in the linear range from 1.0 to 8.0 microg/l with the standard deviation of +/-0.13 (n =3) and the detection limit was determined to be 0.42 microg/l. This method was applied to the determination of Vtg in real male and female carp (C. auratus) serum samples.     

Bioanalysis of tobramycin for therapeutic drug monitoring by solid-phase extraction and capillary zone electrophoresis

A method based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) for the analysis of tobramycin in human serum is presented. An off-line SPE employing a carboxypropyl bonded phase (CBA) cartridge was used for the extraction of tobramycin from human serum. Adsorbed tobramycin was eluted from the CBA cartridge using a mixture of NH(3) (25%, w/v)-methanol (30:70, v/v). After evaporation, the analyte was reconstituted and derivatized with o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA)/3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA). The resulting tobramycin-OPA/MPA derivative was purified, and then identified by mass spectrometry. The tobramycin-OPA/MPA derivative was then analysed by CZE with a background electrolyte (BGE) comprising of 30 mM sodium tetraborate pH 10.0-acetonitrile (ACN) (80:20, v/v) with ultraviolet detection at 230 nm. A linear response was observed in the range of 0.3-30 microg/ml with r(2) = 0.992. The sensitivity of the method was determined by its limit of quantitation (LOQ) and limit of detection (LOD) of 0.3 microg/ml and 0.1 microg/ml, respectively. SPE recovery ranged from 68 to 79% at the trough levels to 98% at the peak levels found in serum. Furosemide has been added as internal standard (IS) to improve precision. For the therapeutic range of tobramycin in serum (2-10 microg/ml) the relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) was less than 11% for the entire SPE/CE process. The method demonstrated excellent selectivity as shown by the lack of interference from a total of 20 drugs investigated. The method was then used in therapeutic drug monitoring of patients receiving the drug.     

Site-directed immobilisation of antibody fragments for detection of C-reactive protein

C-reactive protein, CRP antibody Fab'-fragments have been attached on pre-cleaned gold slides and protein repellent polymers have been used to block the remaining free space in between the antibody fragments. At optimal conditions the antibody fragments are site-directly immobilised on the surface and non-specific binding is reduced. The amount of Fab'-fragments in the polymer host monolayer has been optimised for various buffers. Binding of CRP to Fab'-fragment/polymer layers produced in phosphate buffered saline decreased with NaCl salt concentration. In a 1M NaCl phosphate buffer, the antibodies seem to be randomly oriented on the surface with a similar response to CRP as that of an antibody F(ab)(2)-fragment layer. In a 150 mM NaCl phosphate buffer, on the other hand, the fragments seem to be site-directly oriented and the response to CRP was fivefold. The highest response to CRP was obtained to a layer with a Fab'-fragment concentration of 60 microg/ml. CRP could be detected in a concentration range of 1 ng/ml to 50 microg/ml from a standard solution in phosphate buffer and in a range of 4 ng/ml to 50 microg/ml from serum/PBS. CRP was, moreover, successfully detected in patient samples with good reproducibility. The layer would thus be sensitive enough to analyse the CRP concentration in human serum for predicting cardiovascular disease.