November 15, 2011
Journal Article

A novel nanoparticle-based disposable electrochemical immunosensor for diagnosis of exposure to toxic organophosphorus agents

Abstract

We present a novel disposable electrochemical immunosensor for highly selective and sensitive detection of organophosphorylated butyrylcholinesterase (OP-BChE), a specific biomarker for exposure to toxic organophosphorus agents. In our new approach, the zirconia nanoparticles (ZrO¬2) were employed to selectively capture the OP moiety of OP-BChE adducts, and followed by quantum dot (QD)-tagged anti-BChE antibodies for amplified quantification. The captured CdSe-QD tags can be sensitively detected by stripping voltammetry using in situ bismuth-plating method. The OP agent, diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP), was selected to prepare OP-BChE adducts in various matrices. The formation of OP-BChE adducts in plasma sample was confirmed using mass spectroscopy. The developed electrochemical immunosensor demonstrates a highly linear voltammetric response over the range of 0.1 to 30 nM OP-BChE. Moreover, the immunosensor has been successfully applied for the detection of OP-BChE adducts in the plasma samples. This novel nanoparticle-based electrochemical immunosensor thus provides an alternative way for designing simple, fast, sensitive, and cost-effective sensing platform for on-site screening/evaluating exposure to a variety of OP agents.

Revised: November 21, 2011 | Published: November 15, 2011

Citation

Lu D., J. Wang, L. Wang, D. Du, C. Timchalk, R.C. Barry, and Y. Lin. 2011. A novel nanoparticle-based disposable electrochemical immunosensor for diagnosis of exposure to toxic organophosphorus agents. Advanced Functional Materials 21, no. 22:4371-4378. PNNL-SA-82058. doi:10.1002/adfm.201100616