In situ deposition of Prussian blue on mesoporous carbon nanosphere for sensitive electrochemical immunoassay

A Prussian blue (PB) functionalized mesoporous carbon nanosphere (MCN) composite was prepared for loading signal antibody and high-content glucose oxidase (GOD) to obtain a new nanoprobe for sensitive electrochemical immunoassay. The MCN nanocarrier with an average diameter of 180nm was synthesized by using mesoporous silica nanosphere as a hard template in combination with a hydrothermal carbonization method. This hydrophilic carbon nanomaterial provided an ideal platform for in situ deposition of high-content PB to form the MCN-PB nanocomposite. Based on the step-wise assembly of polyelectrolyte and gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) on the negative-charged nanocomposite, signal antibody and high-content GOD were loaded on this nanocarrier to obtain the nanoprobe. After a sandwich immunoreaction at an Au NPs-modified screen-printed carbon electrode based immunosensor, the nanoprobes were quantitatively captured on the electrode surface to produce sensitive electrochemical response with a PB-mediated GOD catalytic reaction for immunoassay. The high loading of PB and GOD on the nanoprobe greatly amplified the electrochemical signal, leading to the development of a new immunoassay method with high sensitivity. Using human immunoglobulin G as a model analyte, excellent analytical performance including a wide linear range from 0.01 to 100ng/mL and a low detection limit down to 7.8pg/mL was obtained. Additionally, the immunosensor showed high specificity, satisfactory stability and repeatability as well as acceptable reliability. The PB-mediated GOD electrochemical system well excluded the conventional interference from the dissolved oxygen. Thus this immunoassay method provides great potentials for practical applications. •Prussian blue was in situ deposited on mesoporous carbon to form a novel composite.•This nanocomposite was functionalized with glucose oxidase to obtain a nanoprobe.•A new Prussian blue-glucose oxidase based immunoassay method was thus developed.•The high loading of PB and GOD on the nanoprobe greatly enhanced the sensitivity.