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Ultrasensitive detection of multiple cancer biomarkers by a triple cascade amplification strategy in combination with single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

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Abstract

A versatile triple cascade amplification strategy was developed for ultrasensitive simultaneous detection of multiple cancer biomarkers using single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS). The triple cascade amplification strategy consisted of an enhanced RecJf exonuclease-assisted target recycling amplification module, a hybridization chain reaction amplification module, and a signal amplification module based on DNA-templated multiple metal nanoclusters. In the enhanced RecJf exonuclease-assisted target recycling amplification module, the DNA bases at the 5′ ends of aptamers for specific recognition of biomarkers were deliberately replaced by the corresponding RNA bases to enhance amplification efficiency. The signal amplification module based on DNA-templated multiple metal nanoclusters was innovatively used to amplify the signals measured by spICP-MS and at the same time effectively suppress possible background interferences. The proposed spICP-MS platform achieved satisfactory quantitative results for both carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and a-fetoprotein (AFP) in human serum samples with accuracy comparable to that of the commercial ELISA kits. Moreover, it has wide dynamic ranges for both CEA (0.01–100 ng/mL) and AFP (0.01–200 ng/mL). The limit of detection for CEA and AFP was 0.6 and 0.5 pg/mL, respectively. Compared with conventional biomarkers detection methods, the proposed spICP-MS platform has the advantages of operational simplicity, ultra-high sensitivity, wide dynamic range, and low background. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that the proposed spICP-MS platform can be further developed to be a promising alternative tool for biomarker detection in fields of clinical diagnosis and biomedical research.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 22273020), the Leading Plan of Science and Technology Innovation in Hunan High-Tech Industry (2020SK2029), and the Research Foundation of Education Bureau of Hunan Province (no. 21C0474).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, 410082, People’s Republic of China

    Yan-Li Zhu, Zeng-Ping Chen, Yu-Jie Zhao & Ru-Qin Yu

  2. School of Resources and Environment, Hunan University of Technology and Business, Changsha, 410205, People’s Republic of China

    Yan-Li Zhu

  3. Hunan Province Cooperative Innovation Center for Molecular Target New Drug Study, Institute of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, China

    Ji-Kai Wang

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Zhu, YL., Wang, JK., Chen, ZP. et al. Ultrasensitive detection of multiple cancer biomarkers by a triple cascade amplification strategy in combination with single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Microchim Acta 190, 20 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-022-05604-y

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