An enzyme-free immunosensor for sensitive determination of procalcitonin using NiFe PBA nanocubes@TB as the sensing...

In this work, a label-free electrochemical immunosensor was developed for the detection of procalcitonin (PCT), using toluidine blue functionalized NiFe Prussian-blue analog nanocubes (NiFe PBA nanocubes@TB) as a signal amplifier. NiFe PBA nanocubes was synthesized by a simple and efficient self-templating method in this work. NiFe PBA nanocubes with open-framework construction not only provides a larger specific area to load a mass of antibodies but produces an excellent signal without adding extra reaction reagent. Besides, the electrochemical performance of NiFe PBA nanocubes can be enhanced after functionalized with TB. The developed immunosensor exhibited favorable performance for PCT detection with a linear range from 0.001 to 25 ng mL^-1 and a detection limit of 3 × 10^-4 ng mL^-1. Moreover, the immunosensor with acceptable reproducibility, selectivity, and stability may provide a new strategy in the clinical detection of PCT.