A multi-walled carbon nanotubes-poly(l-lysine) modified enantioselective immunosensor for ofloxacin by using multi-enzyme-labeled gold nanoflower as signal enhancer

The enantioselective detection of trace amounts of ofloxacin is very important in many fields. In this work, an enantioselective and sensitive electrochemical immunosensor was constructed for the detection of chiral antibiotic ofloxacin based on a dual amplification strategy using multiwall carbon nanotubes-poly(l-lysine) as a matrix to immobilize the antigen and multi-enzyme-antibody functionalized gold nanoflowers as an electrochemical detection label. The fabrication process of the dual-amplified immunosensor was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammogram and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, respectively. After the optimization of the experimental conditions, a competitive immunoassay, i.e., the association ability with the corresponding antibody between the captured antigen and free S-OFL or R-OFL in the solution, showed that the immunosensor exhibited a sensitive response to S-OFL in the range from 0.26 to 25.6ng/mL with a detection limit of 0.15ng/mL as well as a sensitive response to R-OFL in the range from 0.37 to 12.8ng/mL with a detection limit of 0.30ng/mL. Along with the acceptable sensitivity and stability, the S-OFL or R-OFL immunosensor showed selective ability to its corresponding enantiomer, suggesting this amplification strategy may hold a potential application in the detection of OFL in food or environment. •Biocompatible MWCNT–PLL composites were synthesized to immobilize antigen.•Multi-enzyme-labeled gold nanoflowers were used to amplify the electrochemical signal.•A sensitive immunosensor was fabricated for the enantioselective detection of ofloxacin.