Label-Free Graphene Oxide-Based Surface Plasmon Resonance Immunosensor for the Quantification of Galectin-3, a Novel Cardiac Biomarker

We report the first optical biosensor for the novel and important cardiac biomarker, galectin-3 (Gal3), using the anti-Gal3 antibody as a biorecognition element and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for transducing the bioaffinity event. The immunosensing platform was built at a thiolated Au surface modified by self-assembling four bilayers of poly­(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) and graphene oxide (GO), followed by the covalent attachment of 3-aminephenylboronic acid (3ABA). The importance of GO, both as the anchoring point of the antibody and as a field enhancer for improving the biosensor sensitivity, was critically discussed. The advantages of using 3ABA to orientate the anti-Gal3 antibody through the selective link to the Fc region were also demonstrated. The new platform represents an interesting alternative for the label-free biosensing of Gal3 in the whole range of clinically relevant concentrations (linear range between 10.0 and 50.0 ng mL–1, detection limit of 2.0 ng mL–1) with successful application for Gal3 biosensing in enriched human serum samples.