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Published on: June 16, 2023
Designer SiO₂@Au nanoshells towards sensitive and selective detection of small molecules in laser desorption
Jinrui Gan1, Xiang Wei2, Yixin Li1
1Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and State Key Lab of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Abstract:
We report a novel platform using optimized SiO2@Au core-shell structures as matrices for highly efficient laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry analysis of small biomolecules (MW<700 Da). Owing to the designer structure, SiO2@Au nanoshells can achieve low detection-of-limits (~pmol-fmol) in mass spectrometry and selective laser desorption/ionization in bio-mixtures towards diverse small molecules. By further surface modification with aptamers, Apt-SiO2@Au nanoshells allowed simultaneously targeted enrichment and detection of kanamycin with a detection limit at 200 pM. Our work not only starts new applications of SiO2@Au nanoshells in mass spectrometry, but also contributes to advanced analysis of either a group of small molecules or one target small molecule from complex bio-samples in a pre-designed manner for bio-diagnostics.
From The Clinical Editor:
Existing methods for the detection of small molecules are often not sensitive enough. Here, the authors developed aptamer functionalized SiO2@Au nanoshells for use in mass spectrometry, with very low detection limits. The new platform appeared to be simple and efficient and should be applicable in detection of clinical samples.
