An ultrasensitive immunosensor based on manganese dioxide-graphene nanoplatelets and core shell Fe3O4@Au nanoparticles for label-free detection of carcinoembryonic antigen

[Display omitted] •The specific antibody easily immobilized using core shell Fe3O4@Au nanoparticles.•Manganese dioxide and graphene nanoplatelets applied for signal amplification.•Screen printed carbon electrode used for a label-free electrochemical immunosensor.•The proposed immunosensor showed high sensitivity and selectivity for CEA detecting. A novel electrochemical immunosensor was developed for label-free detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as a cancer biomarker. The designed immunosensor was based on CEA antibody (anti-CEA) anchored with core shell Fe3O4@Au nanoparticles which were immobilized on a screen-printed carbon electrode modified with manganese dioxide decorating on graphene nanoplatelets (SPCE/GNP-MnO2/Fe3O4@Au-antiCEA). The SPCE was placed onto a home-made electrode holder for easy handling. The approach was based on direct binding of CEA to a fixed amount of anti-CEA on the modified electrode for the specific detection using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) monitored in a solution containing 5 mM [Fe(CN)63−/4−] prepared in 0.1 M phosphate buffer at pH 7.4. The difference in signal response owing to the redox reaction of [Fe(CN)6]3−/4− before and after interaction with CEA was regarded as the immunosensor response corresponding directly to the CEA concentration. Under optimized conditions, the linear range of 0.001–100 ng/mL, and the detection limits of 0.10 pg/mL (LSV) and 0.30 pg/mL (EIS) were evaluated. The applicability of the immunosensor was verified by well-corresponding determination of CEA in diluted human serum samples by electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunoassay. Therefore, the proposed immunosensor could be suitable enough for a real sample analysis of CEA.