Wang Chenzhao, Jiang Yuhao, Wu Zhiyu, Wang Xiujuan, Yang Jiawei, Li Junxian, Wei Shanshan, Sun Guoying, Wang Zhibing
School of Chemistry and Life Science, Changchun University of Technology, 2055 Yanan Street, Changchun 130012, PR China; Advanced Institute of Materials Science, Changchun University of Technology, 2055 Yanan Street, Changchun 130012, PR China.
School of Chemistry and Life Science, Changchun University of Technology, 2055 Yanan Street, Changchun 130012, PR China.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Nov;281(Pt 4):136665. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.136665. Epub 2024 Oct 16.
Salivary pepsin has emerged as a promising biomarker for rapid screening and diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Pepsin mainly exists in strongly acidic environments and exhibits its highest activity. However, the poor stability of most fluorescent sensors in strong acidic environments brings a significant challenge for pepsin detection. Herein, an innovative biosensor was developed for the highly specific and sensitive detection of pepsin on the basis of green-emitting ionic liquid-based carbon dots (G-IL-CDs) conjugated with whey proteins (WPs). The G-IL-CDs exhibited aggregation-induced fluorescence enhancement when interacting with WP, and the fluorescence intensity decreased after incubation with pepsin due to the disruption of the aggregation structure. This strategy is highly selective for pepsin due to the strongly acidic environment in which other proteases are inactivated. Under optimal experimental conditions, this biosensor successfully detected pepsin in real human saliva with a satisfying recovery. Furthermore, this study not only developed a CDs-based sensor for detecting pepsin but also laid a solid theoretical foundation for the future development of novel biosensors combining CDs and proteins.
唾液胃蛋白酶已成为一种很有前景的生物标志物，用于快速筛查和诊断胃食管反流病（GERD）。胃蛋白酶主要存在于强酸性环境中，并表现出最高活性。然而，大多数荧光传感器在强酸性环境中稳定性较差，这给胃蛋白酶检测带来了重大挑战。在此，基于与乳清蛋白（WPs）共轭的绿色发光离子液体基碳点（G-IL-CDs），开发了一种创新的生物传感器，用于高特异性和灵敏地检测胃蛋白酶。G-IL-CDs与WP相互作用时表现出聚集诱导的荧光增强，与胃蛋白酶孵育后，由于聚集结构的破坏，荧光强度降低。由于其他蛋白酶在强酸性环境中失活，该策略对胃蛋白酶具有高度选择性。在最佳实验条件下，该生物传感器成功检测了真实人唾液中的胃蛋白酶，回收率令人满意。此外，本研究不仅开发了一种基于碳点的胃蛋白酶检测传感器，还为未来结合碳点和蛋白质的新型生物传感器的发展奠定了坚实的理论基础。
