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A novel magnetic nanozyme Fe3O4@MXene-Au nanocomposite, which possessed higher peroxidase-like activity than that of Fe3O4 nanoparticles and Fe3O4@MXene nanocomposites, was developed. The outstanding magnetic properties of the nanozyme endowed it with the ability of simple and rapid separation, achieving great recyclability. Based on Fe3O4@MXene-Au nanocomposites and glucose oxidase (Glu Ox), a highly selective colorimetric biosensor for glucose detection was developed. Fe3O4@MXene-Au nanocomposites can catalyze H2O2 produced from glucose catalyzed by glucose oxidase to ·OH and oxidize colorless 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to blue oxidized TMB (oxTMB) with a significant absorbance at 652 nm. The linear range of glucose was 0–1.4 mM under optimal conditions, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.11 mM. Glucose in human whole blood was successfully detected with satisfactory recoveries. Furthermore, a facile agarose hydrogel detection platform was designed. With smartphone software, glucose detection can be realized by the agarose hydrogel platform, demonstrating the potential in on-site and visual detection of glucose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly sensitive and selective electrochemical biosensor for Pb2+ with a dual-amplification strategy is proposed. The first amplification step was realized by the cycle of Pb2+ and 8–17 DNAzyme (S2), and the hybridization chain reaction (HCR) triggered by S1 further amplified the electrochemical signal. Fe3O4@Au NPs, as a multifunctional magnetic carrier, is not only manifested in the construction of a magnetically controlled electrochemical response interface, but also has significant contribution in the purifying system, reducing interference, increasing the specific surface area, and the DNA loading. The magnetic nanocomposites were characterized by TEM as spheres with particle size of around 39 nm. When there was no Pb2+, long double-strand DNA (dsDNA) is formed on the surface of Fe3O4@Au NPs by the S1-triggered HCR; in the presence of Pb2+, S2 is activated and S1 on the surface of magnetic biocomposites (Fe3O4@Au NPs-S1) is continuously cleaved with the cycle of Pb2+ and S2, leading to a significant decrease of methylene blue (MB) absorbed on dsDNA. Such reverse dual-signal amplification strategy effectively increased the current difference and improved the sensitivity of the proposed sensor. The electrochemical signal of MB was obtained by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) with preconcentration, showing a linear response toward Pb2+ ranging from 50 pM to 1 μM with a detection limit of 15 pM. The proposed method has feasible applications in detecting other heavy metal ions based on other metal-dependent DNAzyme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel electrochemical and fluorescence dual-signal assay was developed for the determination of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) based on Fe3O4@MnO2 and N-doped carbon dots (NCDs). Fe3O4@MnO2 was not only applied as the recognizer for H2O2 but also served as the fluorescence quencher and electrochemical enhancer. This permits the dual-signal readout of the analytical system. In the absence of H2O2, the NCDs were quenched by Fe3O4@MnO2, and the oxidation of the electrochemical probe ferrocene (Fc) was catalyzed by Fe3O4@MnO2. In the presence of H2O2, MnO2 was reduced to Mn2+, leading to the fluorescence recovery of NCDs and the reduction in the oxidation signal of Fc. By combining the electrochemical method and the fluorescence assay, more comprehensive and valuable information for H2O2 determination was provided to meet different analytical demands. The method exhibits good repeatability and selectivity with a detection limit of 1.0 μM for the fluorescence assay and 0.6 μM for the electrochemical method. The proposed approach holds great potential for probing released targets from living cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors describe a new kind of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) assay. It is based on the use of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) coated with 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (MPBA) as the recognition element for ATP. MPBA has a specific affinity for AuNPs through Au-S interaction, and three boronic acid groups undergo condensation to form a boroxine ring. This induces the aggregation of AuNPs and a visible color change from red to blue. However, in the presence of ATP, the boronic acid group of MPBA preferentially binds to the 2', 3'-hydroxy group of ATP to form a stable boronate ester. Hence, the aggregation of AuNPs is progressively decreased as the concentration of ATP increases, and the color change is increasingly reversed. The ratio of absorbance at 520 and 683 nm increases linearly in the 8 to 100 μM ATP concentration range, with a 0.12 μM limit of detection (at an S/N ratio of 3 σ). The colorimetric assay was successfully applied to the determination of ATP in T47D breast cancer cells and in cultured cells with added anticarcinogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel label-free and exonuclease III (Exo III)–assisted signal amplification electrochemical aptasensor was constructed for the determination of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) via magnetic field–induced self-assembly of magnetic biocomposites (Fe3O4@Au NPs-S1-S2-S3). The magnetic biocomposites were acquired by modifying double-stranded DNA (S1-S2-S3) on the surface of Fe3O4@Au nanoparticles (Fe3O4@Au NPs). Among them, Fe3O4@Au NPs were used as carriers for magnetic separation, thiolated single-stranded DNA (S1) provided signal sequence, CEA aptamer (S2) worked as a recognition element, and complementary strand (S3) was used to form double strands. In the presence of CEA, S2 bonded with CEA competitively; the exposed S1 could not be cleaved since Exo III was inactive against ssDNA. The G-quadruplex/hemin complexes finally formed with the existence of K+, and the high electrochemical signal of G-quadruplex/hemin complexes was recorded by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) at − 0.6 V. Conversely, in the absence of CEA, dsDNA was cleaved from the 3′ blunt end by Exo III; the disappearance of G-rich sequence blocked the generation of the signal. This method exhibited good selectivity and sensitivity for the determination of CEA; the linear range was from 0.1 to 200 ng mL−1 and the limit of detection was 0.4 pg mL−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors describe a versatile aptasensing scheme based on the use of polypyrrole nanoparticles (PPyNPs) and DNA-silver nanoclusters (DNA-AgNCs) for multiple target detection. The DNA-AgNCs consist of two functional domains, viz. (a) a nucleation domain for attaching the metal core of the nanoclusters, and (b) a recognition domain which consists of a single-stranded aptamer. In the absence of analytes, the single-strand recognition domain will be absorbed onto the surface of the PPyNPs through π stacking and hydrophobic interactions. As a result, the red fluorescence of the DNA-AgNCs (with excitation/emission peaks at 535/625 nm) is quenched by the PPyNPs. On introducing the analytes, the DNA-AgNCs will bind them. This leads to the desorption of DNA-AgNCs and the recovery of the red fluorescence. Based on the above strategy, a versatile, sensitive and selective aptasensor was established for detection of adenosine, thrombin and interferon-gamma. The method was applied to the detection of the above targets in (spiked) serum samples and gave satisfactory results, with detection limit of 0.58 nM for IFN-γ, 0.39 nM for adenosine, and 2.2 nM for thrombin. The use of PPyNPs results in uniquely low non-specific absorption and in improved analytical results in case of real-sample analysis when compared to previously reported methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fluorometric ATP assay is described that makes use of carbon dots and graphene oxide along with toehold-mediated strand displacement reaction. In the absence of target, the fluorescence of carbon dots (with excitation/emission maxima at 360/447 nm) is strong and in the “on” state, because the signal probe hybridizes with the aptamer strand and cannot combine with graphene oxide. In the presence of ATP, it will bind to the aptamer and induce a strand displacement reaction. Consequently, the signal probe is released, the sensing strategy will change into the “off” state with the addition of graphene oxide. This aptasensor exhibits selective and sensitive response to ATP and has a 3.3 nM detection limit.Schematic of signal amplification by strand displacement in a carbon dot based fluorometric assay for ATP. This strategy exhibits high sensitivity and selectivity with a detection limit as low as 3.3 nM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]