Sensitive and simultaneous detection of cardiac markers in human serum using surface acoustic wave immunosensor

We present a rapid and sensitive surface acoustic wave (SAW) immunosensor that utilizes gold staining as a signal enhancement method. A sandwich immunoassay was performed on sensing area of the SAW sensor, which could specifically capture and detect cardiac markers (cardiac troponin I (cTnI), creatine kinase (CK)-MB, and myoglobin). The analytes in human serum were captured on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that were conjugated in advance with detection antibodies. Introduction of these complexes to the capture antibody-immobilized sensor surface resulted in a classic AuNP-based sandwich immunoassay format that has been used for signal amplification. In order to achieve further signal enhancement, a gold staining method was performed, which demonstrated that it is possible to obtain gold staining-mediated signal augmentation on a mass-sensitive device. The sensor response due to gold staining varied as a function of cardiac marker concentration. We also investigated effects of increasing operating frequency on sensor responses. Results showed that detection limit of the SAW sensor could be further improved by increasing the operating frequency.