A novel target-triggered signal chemiluminescence kit for thrombin detection based on fusiform Au/MIL-53(Fe)

In this work, a fusiform Au/MIL-53(Fe) catalyst was used to construct a chemiluminescence (CL) kit for the sensitive and rapid detection of thrombin (THR). The porous silica microspheres encapsulated with luminol in holes by thrombin aptamer (THR-APT/Luminol/SPSiO2) and the fusiform Au/MIL-53(Fe) modified with thrombin aptamer complementary chains (Au/MIL-53(Fe)-SSDNA) were prepared. Then, a CL kit for THR detection was constructed by using the prepared composites. When thrombin is added to the reaction system, it binds to its aptamer (THR-APT) to open the holes of SPSiO2, which cause luminol and Au/MIL-53(Fe) release. Released luminol enters the detection system and triggers the reaction of luminol–H2O2–NaOH with the catalyst of Au/MIL-53(Fe), and produces a CL signal. The detection limit and the linear range of the kit were 4.7 × 10−15 M and 1.5 × 10−14 – 3.5 × 10−10 M, respectively. The CL kit also showed high stability, selectivity and reproducibility, and was successfully applied to the determination of THR in serum samples. Therefore, the proposed method for detecting THR has great application potential in the diagnosis of blood-related disease markers. [Display omitted] •The fusiform Au/MIL-53 (Fe) effectively catalyzed the CL reaction of Lumino–H2O2–NaOH and improved the sensitivity of the sensor.•Luminol is only released when the target (thrombin) is present, which reduces the background interference.•The sensor had wide linear range of 1.5 × 10−14 – 3.5 × 10−10 M, low detection limit of 4.7 × 10−15 M, and had been successfully used to detect thrombin in serum samples.