A sandwich-type electrochemical immunosensor based on RhPt NDs/NH2-GS and Au NPs/PPy NS for quantitative detection hepatitis B surface antigen

Abstract

In this work, a sandwich-type electrochemical immunosensor was fabricated to quantitatively detect hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). The immunosensor was based on Rh core and Pt shell nanodendrites loaded onto amino group functionalized graphene nanosheet (RhPt NDs/NH₂-GS) as label and gold nanoparticles loaded onto polypyrrole nanosheet (Au NPs/PPy NS) as platform. RhPt NDs with abundant catalytic active sites because of the branched core-shell structure, RhPt NDs/NH₂-GS as the label displayed high catalytic activity, amplifying the current signal of the immunosensor. Additionally, Au NPs/PPy NS enhanced the electron transfer and provided a good microenvironment to immobilize antibodies effectively, thus improving the sensitivity of the immunosensor. Based on above advantages, the immunosensor emerged a linear concentration ranging from 0.0005 to 10 ng/mL, a low detection limit of 166 fg/mL for HBsAg (S/N = 3) and good stability, selectivity, reproducibility. Furthermore, the satisfactory accuracy in analysis of actual serum samples implied the immunosensor had promising prospect in clinical analysis applications.

Keywords: Amino group functionalized graphene; Au NPs loaded on polypyrrole; Core-shell RhPt nanodendrites; Hepatitis B surface antigen; Sandwich-type electrochemical immunosensor.