White graphene quantum dots as electrochemical sensing platform for ferritin

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Ferritin is a key biomarker for various diseases.
• Developing sensitive and selective electrochemical sensors is crucial for early disease diagnosis.
• Hexagonal boron nitride quantum dots (hBN QDs) offer unique optical and electronic properties for sensing applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report for the first time the use of hBN QDs as an electrochemical sensor for ferritin.
• To develop a novel immunosensor platform for sensitive ferritin detection.
• To characterize the synthesized hBN QDs and evaluate their sensing performance.

Main Methods:

• hBN QDs synthesized via a simple liquid exfoliation method.
• Material characterization using UV-Vis, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, XRD, and HR-TEM.
• Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) employed for ferritin detection using hBN QD-functionalized screen-printed electrodes.

Main Results:

• The developed immunosensor exhibited a dynamic linear range of 10-2000 ng/mL for ferritin.
• A low limit of detection (LOD) of 1.306 ng/mL was achieved.
• The sensor demonstrated high selectivity, reproducibility, and stability in the presence of interfering agents.

Conclusions:

• hBN QDs represent a promising new material for electrochemical biosensing.
• The developed hBN QD-based immunosensor offers a sensitive, selective, and reproducible platform for ferritin detection.
• This work opens new avenues for utilizing hBN QDs in clinical diagnostics and disease monitoring.