PNNL

Abstract

A particle-based renewable electrochemical magnetic immunosensor was developed by using magnetic beads and a gold nanoparticle label. Anti-IgG antibody-modified magnetic beads were attached to a renewable carbon paste transducer surface by magnets that were fixed inside the sensor. A gold nanoparticle label was capsulated to the surface of magnetic beads by sandwich immunoassay. Highly sensitive electrochemical stripping analysis offers a simple and fast method to quantify the capatured gold nanoparticle tracer and avoid the use of an enzyme label and substrate. The stripping signal of gold nanoparticle is related to the concentration of target IgG in the sample solution. A transmission electron microscopy image shows that the gold nanoparticles were successfully capsulated to the surface of magnetic beads through sandwich immunoreaction events. The parameters of immunoassay, including the loading of magnetic beads, the amount of gold nanoparticle conjugate, and the immunoreaction time, were optimized. The detection limit of 0.02 µg ml-1of IgG was obtained under optimum experimental conditions. Such particle-based electrochemical magnetic immunosensors could be readily used for simultaneous parallel detection of multiple proteins by using multiple inorganic metal nanoparticle tracers and are expected to open new opportunities for disease diagnostics and biosecurity.