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A colorimetric sensing strategy based on chitosan-stabilized platinum nanoparticles for quick detection of α-glucosidase activity and inhibitor screening

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Abstract

α-Glucosidase (α-Glu) is implicated in the progression and pathogenesis of type II diabetes (T2D). In this study, we developed a rapid colorimetric technique using platinum nanoparticles stabilized by chitosan (Ch-PtNPs) to detect α-Glu activity and its inhibitor. The Ch-PtNPs facilitate the conversion of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) into oxidized TMB (oxTMB) in the presence of dissolved O2. The catalytic hydrolysis of 2-O-α-d-glucopyranosyl-l-ascorbic acid (AA-2G) by α-Glu produces ascorbic acid (AA), which reduces oxTMB to TMB, leading to the fading of the blue color. However, the presence of α-Glu inhibitors (AGIs) hinders the generation of AA, allowing Ch-PtNPs to re-oxidize colorless TMB back to blue oxTMB. This unique phenomenon enables the colorimetric detection of α-Glu activity and AGIs. The linear range for α-Glu was found to be 0.1–1.0 U mL−1 and the detection limit was 0.026 U mL−1. Additionally, the half-maximal inhibition value (IC50) for acarbose, an α-Glu inhibitor, was calculated to be 0.4769 mM. Excitingly, this sensing platform successfully detected α-Glu activity in human serum samples and effectively screened AGIs. These promising findings highlight the potential application of the proposed strategy in clinical diabetes diagnosis and drug discovery.

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Funding

The authors are grateful to the Startup Fund for Scientific Research, Fujian Medical University (2019QH1006 and 2018QH1013) and the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (2022J01271) for the financial support that made this research possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Experimental Teaching Center, School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350004, China

    Qin-Qin Yang, Yi-Lin Zhang, Min Li, Xiu-Hua You & Bo-Wen Xiao

  2. Fujian Key Laboratory of Drug Target Discovery and Structural and Functional Research, School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350004, China

    Shao-Bin He, Liu Yang, Zhi-Qiang Yang, Hao-Hua Deng & Wei Chen

  3. Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, 362000, China

    Shao-Bin He

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  1. Qin-Qin Yang
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Contributions

Qin-Qin Yang, Shao-Bin He, and Hao-Hua Deng conceptualized the article. Qin-Qin Yang, Yi-Lin Zhang, and Ming Li conducted the literature search and drafted the manuscript. Xiu-Hua You, Bo-Wen Xiao, Liu Yang, and Zhi-Qiang Yang assisted in conceptualizing and producing the figures and graphical abstract. Wei Chen critically revised the work.

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Correspondence to Hao-Hua Deng or Wei Chen.

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The research involved human serum samples taken from healthy volunteers who provided informed written consent to participate in the study. This project was approved by the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of Fujian Medical University (Approval No. 2022–141). All tests were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards.

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Yang, QQ., He, SB., Zhang, YL. et al. A colorimetric sensing strategy based on chitosan-stabilized platinum nanoparticles for quick detection of α-glucosidase activity and inhibitor screening. Anal Bioanal Chem (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-024-05198-9

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