Optoelectronic Division-Engineering Department, University of Sannio, 82100, Benevento, Italy; Centro Regionale Information Communication Technology (CeRICT Scrl), 82100, Benevento, Italy.
Institute for Experimental Endocrinology and Oncology "Gaetano Salvatore" (IEOS), Second Unit, National Research Council, 80131, Napoli, Italy.
Biosens Bioelectron. 2023 Aug 1;233:115322. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115322. Epub 2023 Apr 15.
We developed an immunoassay platform for the detection of human Thyroglobulin (Tg) to be integrated with fine-needle aspiration biopsy for early detection of lymph node metastases in thyroid cancer patients. The sensing platform detects Tg by a sandwich immunoassay involving a self-assembled surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate assisted by functionalized gold nanoparticles that provide additional Raman signal amplification and improved molecular specificity. Specifically, the SERS-active substrates were functionalized with Tg Capture antibodies and fabricated either on-chip or on optical fiber tips by nanosphere lithography. Gold nanoparticles were functionalized with Detection antibodies and conjugated with 4-mercaptobenzoic acid, which serves as a Raman reporter. The sandwich assay platform was validated in the planar configuration and a detection limit as low as 7 pg/mL was successfully achieved. Careful morphological examination of the SERS substrates before and after Tg measurements further assessed the effective capture of nanoparticles and correlated the average nanoparticle coverage with the Tg concentration obtained by SERS measurements. The sandwich assay was successfully demonstrated on washout fluids of fine needle aspiration biopsies from cancer patients and confirmed the high specificity of the proposed methodology when complex biological matrices are considered. Finally, SERS optrodes were fabricated and successfully used to detect Tg concentration by applying the same bio-recognition strategy and Raman interrogation through an optical fiber. This opens the possibility of transferring the Tg detection approach to the optical fiber tip to develop point-of-care platforms that can be directly integrated into fine needle aspiration biopsies.
我们开发了一种用于检测人甲状腺球蛋白(Tg)的免疫分析平台,该平台将与细针抽吸活检相结合,用于早期检测甲状腺癌患者的淋巴结转移。该传感平台通过三明治免疫分析检测 Tg,该分析涉及自组装表面增强拉曼散射(SERS)基底,该基底由功能化的金纳米粒子辅助,提供额外的拉曼信号放大和提高的分子特异性。具体而言,SERS 活性基底用 Tg 捕获抗体功能化,并通过纳米球光刻在芯片上或光纤尖端上制造。金纳米粒子用检测抗体功能化,并与 4-巯基苯甲酸偶联,4-巯基苯甲酸用作拉曼报告分子。该三明治测定平台在平面配置中进行了验证,成功实现了低至 7 pg/mL 的检测限。在进行 Tg 测量之前和之后对 SERS 基底进行仔细的形态检查,进一步评估了纳米粒子的有效捕获,并将平均纳米粒子覆盖率与通过 SERS 测量获得的 Tg 浓度相关联。该三明治测定法已成功应用于癌症患者的细针抽吸活检洗脱液,并在考虑复杂生物基质时证实了所提出方法的高特异性。最后,制造了 SERS 光探头,并通过光纤应用相同的生物识别策略和拉曼询问成功用于检测 Tg 浓度。这为将 Tg 检测方法转移到光纤尖端以开发可以直接集成到细针抽吸活检中的即时护理平台开辟了可能性。