PNNL

Abstract

Biomarkers serve as indicators of biological and pathological processes, or physiological and pharmacological responses to a drug treatment. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a biomarker with its important biological and pathological functions, has been studied for decades. Conventional fluorescence immunoassay has been widely used for analysis of biomakers like IL-6. However, single fluorophore labeling shows its limitations of low intensity and poor stability. We report a dye-encapsulated silica nanoparticle as a label, with the advantages of high fluorescence intensity, photostability, and biocompatibility, in conjunction with microarray technology for sensitive immunoassay of IL-6 on a microarray format. The tris (2,2’-bipyridyl)ruthenium (II)chloride hexahydrate (Rubpy) dye incorporated into silica nanoparticles using a simple one-step microemulsion synthesis step. The nanoparticles are uniform in size with a diameter of 50 nm. The microarray fluorescent immunoassay approach based on dye-doped silica nanoparticle labels has high sensitivity for practical applications with a limit of detection for IL-6 down to 0.1 ng mL-1. The calibration curve is linear over the range from 0.1 ng mL-1 to 10 ng mL-1. Furthermore, results illustrated that the assay is highly specific for IL-6 in the presence of range of cytokines or proteins. The RuDS dye-labeled nanoparticles in connection with protein microarrays show the promise for clinical diagnosis of biomarkers.