An immunosensor for the assay of toxic biological warfare agents is a biosensor suitable for detecting hazardous substances such as aflatoxin, botulinum toxin, ricin, Shiga toxin, and others. The application of immunosensors is used in outdoor assays, point-of-care tests, as a spare method for more expensive devices, and even in the laboratory as a standard analytical method. Some immunosensors, such as automated flow-through analyzers or lateral flow tests, have been successfully commercialized as tools for toxins assay, but the research is ongoing. New devices are being developed, and the use of advanced materials and assay techniques make immunosensors highly competitive analytical devices in the field of toxic biological warfare agents assay. This review summarizes facts about current applications and new trends of immunosensors regarding recent papers in this area.
- MeSH
- Biological Warfare Agents MeSH
- Biosensing Techniques * MeSH
- Botulinum Toxins * MeSH
- Immunoassay methods MeSH
- Ricin * MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Review MeSH
Cancer is a widespread disease characterized by high mortality. To improve the survival rate or facilitate effective therapy, accurate and reliable diagnosis at an early stage is needed. For this reason, there is a continuous push to develop sensitive methods which can be used in cancer diagnosis. Current diagnosis relies on the quantification of cancer biomarkers defined as molecules that are measurable in body fluids or tissues and indicate a change in physiological processes with subsequent pathological manifestations. This contribution reviews recent developments in the area of electrochemical immunosensors applicable for the detection of cancer biomarkers that occur in a wide concentration range including extremely low levels, which are typical for the early stage of the disease. A summary of various antibody labels used for biomarker analysis and combined with electrochemical detection is presented. The potential of multiple biomarker analysis, with its indisputable clinical impact for accurate diagnosis, is also highlighted.
This paper reports on the synthesis and characterization of a novel electrochemical label for sensitive electrochemical stripping metalloimmunoassays based on silver dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles (NPs). Silver dendrimer nanocomposites (Ag-DNCs) were synthesized from a generation 5-7 (G5-7) hydroxyl-terminated ethylenediamine-core-type (2-carbon core) PAMAM dendrimer. Several fixed ratios of Ag(+)/dendrimer were prepared with the aim to obtain stable nanocomposites with maximal silver loading in the interior of a polymeric shell. Synthesized Ag-DNCs were characterized by UV-vis spectrophotometry, atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The G7 Ag-DNC synthesized in 2000 molar excess of silver (1/4 ratio of tertiary amine/Ag(+)) turned out a more suitable candidate for the label development. By combination of the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and the anodic stripping analysis (ASV) on a carbon electrode, down to 1.35 x 10(+10) of individual Ag-DNCs (LOD=0.9 pM, 25 ml volume) was detected after the dissolution of silver nanoparticles in a diluted nitric acid. The potential advantages of proposed electrochemical label are discussed.
- MeSH
- Equipment Failure Analysis MeSH
- Staining and Labeling methods MeSH
- Coated Materials, Biocompatible chemistry MeSH
- Biosensing Techniques instrumentation MeSH
- Dendrimers chemistry MeSH
- Equipment Design MeSH
- Electrochemistry instrumentation MeSH
- Financing, Organized MeSH
- Immunoassay instrumentation MeSH
- Nanoparticles chemistry ultrastructure MeSH
- Nanotechnology methods instrumentation MeSH
- Reproducibility of Results MeSH
- Sensitivity and Specificity MeSH
- Silver chemistry MeSH
A novel microfluidic label-free bead-based metallothionein immunosensors was designed. To the surface of superparamagnetic agarose beads coated with protein A, polyclonal chicken IgY specifically recognizing metallothionein (MT) were immobilized via rabbit IgG. The Brdicka reaction was used for metallothionein detection in a microfluidic printed 3D chip. The assembled chip consisted of a single copper wire coated with a thin layer of amalgam as working electrode. Optimization of MT detection using designed microfluidic chip was performed in stationary system as well as in the flow arrangement at various flow rates (0-1800 μL/min). In stationary arrangement it is possible to detect MT concentrations up to 30 ng/mL level, flow arrangement allows reliable detection of even lower concentration (12.5 ng/mL). The assembled miniature flow chip was subsequently tested for the detection of MT elevated levels (at approx. level 100 μg/mL) in samples of patients with cancer. The stability of constructed device for metallothionein detection in flow arrangement was found to be several days without any maintenance needed.
- MeSH
- Equipment Design MeSH
- Electrochemical Techniques instrumentation methods MeSH
- Electrodes MeSH
- Antibodies, Immobilized chemistry metabolism MeSH
- Immunoglobulin G chemistry metabolism MeSH
- Immunoglobulins chemistry metabolism MeSH
- Immunomagnetic Separation instrumentation methods MeSH
- Rabbits MeSH
- Chickens MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Metallothionein blood MeSH
- Head and Neck Neoplasms blood MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Rabbits MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
A hapten-protein conjugate with copper nanoparticles (Hap-Car-BSA@CuNPs) was first synthesized in the present work for the determination of carbaryl. The copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) of the conjugate were used as electrochemical labels in the direct solid-phase competitive determination of carbaryl residues in flour from different crops. The signal was read by linear sweep anodic stripping voltammetry (LSASV) of copper (through the electrochemical stripping of accumulated elemental copper) on a gold-graphite electrode (GGE). To form a recognition receptor layer of monoclonal antibodies against the carbaryl on the surface of the GGE, 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and 1-hydroxy-2,5-pyrrolidinedione (NHS) were used as the best covalent cross-linkers. The concentrations of the antibodies and the Hap-Car-BSA@CuNPs conjugate were optimized for carbaryl detection by the electrochemical immunosensor. The electrochemical immunosensor can be used for highly sensitive determination of carbaryl residues in flour samples in the concentration range 0.8-32.3 μg·kg-1, with a limit of detection 0.08 μg·kg-1. The present work paves the path for a novel method for monitoring carbaryl in other food products, drinks, and soil samples.
