Zeolite-iron oxide nanocomposite from fly ash formed a ‘clubbell’ structure: integration of cardiac biocapture macromolecules in serum on microelectrodes

• Published in: Mikrochimica acta (1966) 2021-06, Vol.188 (6), p.187-187, Article 187
• Main Authors: Liu, Zhiqiang, Gopinath, Subash C. B., Wang, Zhifang, Li, Yibo, Anbu, Periasamy, Zhang, Wenlong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aluminum; Analytical Chemistry; Antibodies; Antibodies, Immobilized - immunology; Aptamers, Nucleotide - chemistry; Base Sequence; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - blood; Biomarkers - chemistry; Biosensing Techniques - instrumentation; Biosensing Techniques - methods; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electric power generation; Electric power-plants; Electrochemical Techniques - instrumentation; Electrochemical Techniques - methods; Ferric oxide; Fly ash; Heart attack; Humans; Immobilized Nucleic Acids - chemistry; Iron compounds; Iron Compounds - chemistry; Iron oxides; Limit of Detection; Macromolecules; Microelectrodes; Microengineering; Myocardial infarction; Myocardial Infarction - blood; Myocardial Infarction - diagnosis; Myoglobin; Myoglobins; Nanochemistry; Nanocomposites; Nanocomposites - chemistry; Nanotechnology; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain - blood; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain - chemistry; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain - immunology; Natriuretic peptides; Original Paper; Oxides - chemistry; Peptide Fragments - blood; Peptide Fragments - chemistry; Peptide Fragments - immunology; Photoelectrons; Power plants; Reproducibility of Results; Sensors; Serum albumin; Silicon; Spectrum analysis; Thermal power plants; X-ray spectroscopy; Zeolites; Zeolites - chemistry
• ISSN: 0026-3672; 1436-5073
• DOI: 10.1007/s00604-021-04834-w

A new zeolite-iron oxide nanocomposite (ZEO-IO) was extracted from waste fly ash of a thermal power plant and utilized for capturing aptamers used to quantify the myocardial infarction (MI) biomarker N-terminal prohormone B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-ProBNP); this was used in a probe with an integrated microelectrode sensor. High-resolution microscopy revealed that ZEO-IO displayed a clubbell structure and a particle size range of 100–200 nm. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the presence of Si, Al, Fe, and O in the synthesized ZEO-IO. The limit of detection for NT-ProBNP was 1–2 pg/mL (0.1–0.2 pM) when the aptamer was sandwiched with antibody and showed the doubled current response even at a low NT-ProBNP abundance. A dose-dependent interaction was identified for this sandwich with a linear plot in the concentration range 1 to 32 pg/mL (0.1–3.2 pM) with a determination coefficient R 2  = 0.9884; y  = 0.8425x–0.5771. Without  sandwich, the detection limit was 2–4 pg/mL (0.2–0.4 pM) and the determination coefficient was R 2  = 0.9854; y  = 1.0996x–1.4729. Stability and nonfouling assays in the presence of bovine serum albumin, cardiac troponin I, and myoglobin revealed that the aptamer-modified surface is stable and specific for NT-Pro-BNP. Moreover, NT-ProBNP-spiked human serum exhibited selective detection. This new nanocomposite-modified surface helps in detecting NT-Pro-BNP and diagnosing MI at stages of low expression. Graphical abstract