Center for Advanced Analytical Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China.
J Mater Chem B. 2020 Apr 29;8(16):3327-3340. doi: 10.1039/c9tb02419k.
Controlled/"living" radical polymerization (CLRP) techniques, such as atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, and their variants, have now emerged as a novel class of signal amplification strategies and they have attracted growing attention in biosensing of clinically relevant biomolecules. Through the CLRP-mediated de novo formation of polymer chains, a large amount of signaling probes (e.g., ferrocene) or functional groups (e.g., -NH2, -CHO, and -COOH) that are available for the subsequent introduction of signaling probes can be recruited in the sensing interfaces, outputting a high signal even in the presence of a low abundance of target analytes, thereby greatly improving the detection sensitivity. Compared with conventional strategies based on the use of either catalytic labels (e.g., natural enzymes, biomimetic catalysts, and electrocatalysts) or complex nanomaterials (e.g., surface-functionalized metal nanoparticles), CLRP-based signal amplification strategies have advantages of being low-cost, highly efficient, and relatively easy in operation. By virtue of these merits, CLRP-based signal amplification strategies show great promise for clinical applications and biomedical research studies. In this review, the advantages and disadvantages of various signal amplification strategies have been summarized. Following a brief introduction of the mechanisms of various CLRP techniques, a comprehensive overview of the applications of CLRP-based signal amplification strategies in biosensing of clinically relevant biomolecules such as nucleic acids, enzymes, and antigens is presented. Also discussed herein are the advantages and disadvantages of CLRP-based signal amplification strategies, which are believed to be instructive for their broad application in biosensing.
可控/“活性”自由基聚合（CLRP）技术，如原子转移自由基聚合（ATRP）、可逆加成-断裂链转移（RAFT）聚合及其变体，现已成为一类新型的信号放大策略，在与临床相关的生物分子的生物传感中引起了越来越多的关注。通过 CLRP 介导的新聚合物链的形成，可以在传感界面中招募大量的信号探针（例如二茂铁）或功能基团（例如 -NH2、-CHO 和 -COOH），以便随后引入信号探针，即使在存在低丰度的目标分析物的情况下也能输出高信号，从而大大提高检测灵敏度。与基于使用催化标签（例如天然酶、仿生催化剂和电催化剂）或复杂纳米材料（例如表面功能化的金属纳米颗粒）的传统策略相比，CLRP 基信号放大策略具有低成本、高效率和相对易于操作的优点。基于这些优点，CLRP 基信号放大策略在临床应用和生物医学研究中具有广阔的应用前景。在这篇综述中，总结了各种信号放大策略的优缺点。在简要介绍了各种 CLRP 技术的机制之后，全面概述了 CLRP 基信号放大策略在与临床相关的生物分子（例如核酸、酶和抗原）的生物传感中的应用。本文还讨论了 CLRP 基信号放大策略的优缺点，相信这对其在生物传感中的广泛应用具有指导意义。
