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Manganese dioxide nanoparticle-based colorimetric immunoassay for the detection of alpha-fetoprotein

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Abstract

An immunoassay has been developed for the determination of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). It is based (a) on the use of a detection reaction mediated by manganese dioxide nanoparticles (MnO2 NPs) because their good stability at room temperature, and (b) on tyramine signal amplification (TSA). The MnO2 NPs acts as an artificial peroxidase that causes the conversion of TMB to give a colored product, and the tyramine-triggered reaction is used for signal amplification to improve the detection limit. Combined with immuno-magnetic separation and enrichment, the response of this AFP immunoassay is linear from 6.25–400 ng mL−1, with a detection limit of 22 pg mL−1 (S/N = 3). This immunoassay was successfully applied to the quantification of AFP in serum samples, and gave excellent accuracy compared with the clinical results from a local hospital. The LOD and stability of this assay are better than those of the standard horseradish peroxidase-based ELISA. The strategy presented here is conceived to have a wider scope in that it may be extended to various other immunoassays.

Schematic of an immunoassay based on manganese dioxide nanoparticles (MnO2 NPs)-mediated enzyme reaction and tyramine-triggered signal amplification (TSA) to detect alpha-fetoprotein (AFP).

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge financial support from NSFC (21505027)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Analytical & Testing Center, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Yiran Li, Jing Wu & Mengxia Xie

  2. Beijing Institute for Tropical Medicine, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, 95, Yongan Road, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, China

    Cheng Zhang & Yu Wang

  3. CAS Key Lab for Biological Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China

    Yiping Chen

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  1. Yiran Li
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  2. Jing Wu
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  3. Cheng Zhang
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  5. Yu Wang
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Correspondence to Yiping Chen, Yu Wang or Mengxia Xie.

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Li, Y., Wu, J., Zhang, C. et al. Manganese dioxide nanoparticle-based colorimetric immunoassay for the detection of alpha-fetoprotein. Microchim Acta 184, 2767–2774 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-017-2303-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-017-2303-3

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