Sirtuin 1 evaluation with a novel immunoassay approach based on TiO2-Au label and hyperbranched polymer hybrid

Accurate and highly sensitive evaluation of the sirtuin 1 (SirT1) level is becoming increasingly important for understanding the contribution of SirT1 in metabolism pathways. Here, a novel electrochemical immunoassay of SirT1 based on crosslinked hyperbranched azo-polymer decorated with gold colloids (Au-HAP) as sensing platform and titanium dioxide (TiO2)-Au nanocomposites to immobilize secondary antibody-horseradish peroxidase (Ab2-HRP) as electrochemical labels has been designed. Greatly enhanced sensitivity was achieved by exploiting the excellent conductivity of Au nanoparticle, the amplification effect of Au-HAP and TiO2-Au, and the favorable catalytic ability of HRP. The nanocomposites of Au-HAP and TiO2-Au could attach numerous capture antibodies on the surface for significant immune recognition efficiency. Meanwhile, the TiO2-Au-labeled Ab2-HRP using an HRP-thionine-H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) detection system could further induce signal readout. Under optimal conditions, the signal intensity was linearly related to the concentration of SirT1 in the range of 1-500 ng ml(-1), and the limit of detection was 0.28 ng ml(-1). The developed biosensor exhibits attractive performance for the analysis of SirT1, with rapid response, high sensitivity, and high accuracy, and could become a promising technique for protein detection.