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Facile synthesis of Fe3O4@polyethylenimine with peroxidase-like activity for highly sensitive detection of interferon α-2b

简易方法合成具有类过氧化物酶活性的聚乙烯亚胺包覆的四氧化三铁用于高灵敏检测干扰素α-2b

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Abstract

The sensitive detection of interferon alpha-2b (IFN-α2b) is crucial in treating viral infections and cancers. However, the natural enzymes used in the traditional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) face the obstacles of high cost and low stability. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop more cost-effective and stable alternatives to detect IFN-α2b. To address this issue, we synthesized poly-ethyleneimine (PEI)-modified magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4@PEI MNPs) that are highly stable, affordable and simple to prepare. These Fe3O4@PEI MNPs serve as a substitute for horseradish peroxidase in the ELISA-based detection of IFN-α2b, providing better sensitivity than chromatographic and traditional ELISA techniques. The peroxidase-like activity of Fe3O4@PEI MNPs can develop color, enabling the visualization of IFN-α2b. The proposed immunoassay has a linear increase with IFN-α2b concentrations ranging from 0.075 to 25 ng mL−1, with a low limit of detection of 0.055 ng mL−1. Based on the outstanding peroxidase-like activity of Fe3O4@PEI MNPs, this method has the potential to be used for the clinical detection of IFN-α2b and other protein biomarkers in disease diagnosis and treatments.

摘要

在病毒感染和癌症治疗中, 干扰素α-2b (IFN-α2b)的灵敏检测至关重要, 因此需要开发经济、 稳定的灵敏检测IFN-α2b的方法. 传统的酶联免疫吸附测定(ELISA)中使用的天然酶存在制备成本高和稳定性差等问题. 为了提高其灵敏度并降低成本, 我们合成了聚乙烯亚胺(PEI) 修饰的四氧化三铁磁性纳米粒子(Fe3O4@PEI MNPs). 在基于ELISA的IFN-α2b检测中, 这些磁性纳米粒子作为辣根过氧化物酶的替代品, 提供了比色谱和传统ELISA技术更高的灵敏度, 并且能够实现IFN-α2b的可视化检测. 该免疫分析方法的线性范围为0.075–25 ng mL−1, 检测限为0.055 ng mL−1. 基于Fe3O4@PEI MNPs优异的过氧化物酶活性, 该方法在用于检测IFN-α2b和其他蛋白质生物标志物监测方面具有临床应用潜力.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFA0709202), the Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province (20220101055JC), the International Cooperation Project of Jilin Scientific and Technological Development Program (20190701059GH), and the Department of Science and Technology of Jilin Province (20220508098RC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Pharmacy, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China

    Xu Sun  (孙旭) & Haicheng Gao  (高海成)

  2. State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, CAS, Changchun, 130022, China

    Xu Sun  (孙旭), Qing Dong  (董青), Hao Wang  (王浩), Dan Li  (李丹) & Erkang Wang  (汪尔康)

  3. Changchun Institute of Biological Products, Changchun, 130015, China

    Junliang Chang  (常军亮) & Xuemei Zhang  (张雪梅)

  4. Department of Chemistry and Physics, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-3400, USA

    Jin Wang  (汪劲)

Authors
  1. Xu Sun  (孙旭)
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  2. Junliang Chang  (常军亮)
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  5. Xuemei Zhang  (张雪梅)
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  6. Dan Li  (李丹)
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  7. Haicheng Gao  (高海成)
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  8. Erkang Wang  (汪尔康)
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  9. Jin Wang  (汪劲)
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Contributions

Author contributions Sun X conducted the experiments and drafted the original manuscript; Chang J and Zhang X provided direct guidance in ELISA investigation and contributed to manuscript revision; Dong Q, Wang H and Gao H were involved in the characterization of nanomaterials and data analysis; Wang E and Li D were responsible for securing the funding for the project; Li D and Wang J contributed to the design, supervision, and manuscript revision.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Dan Li  (李丹), Haicheng Gao  (高海成) or Jin Wang  (汪劲).

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Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Xu Sun received her Master’s degree from Jilin University and studied as an exchange student at Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Her current research focuses on the synthesis of functional nanomaterials, including nanozymes, as well as the design and development of biosensors.

Dan Li is an associate professor at Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, CAS. She received her PhD degree from Jilin University, China, in 2015. In 2017, she worked as a visiting researcher at Macquarie University, Australia. Her primary research interests lie in the development of innovative nanomaterials for applications in analytical chemistry and cancer theranostics.

Haicheng Gao is a professor at Jilin University, where he has been conducting research since earning his PhD degree from the same institution in 2009. He also served as an associate professor at the National University of Singapore in 2017. His research primarily centers on molecular clinical pharmacy. Additionally, he is actively involved in the synthesis of nanomaterials and nanome-dicines.

Jin Wang earned his PhD degree from the University of Illinois in 1991. Following that, he held positions as a postdoctoral research fellow and visiting researcher in chemistry and biophysics at the University of Illinois and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Currently, he serves as a professor of the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. His research focuses on biophysics, statistical physics, analytical chemistry, and materials science.

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40843_2023_2549_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Facile synthesis of Fe3O4@polyethylenimine with peroxidase-like activity for highly sensitive detection of interferon α-2b

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Sun, X., Chang, J., Dong, Q. et al. Facile synthesis of Fe3O4@polyethylenimine with peroxidase-like activity for highly sensitive detection of interferon α-2b. Sci. China Mater. 66, 4121–4130 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-023-2549-3

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