The magnetic-nanoparticle-assisted sensitive detection of nitrated α-syn in blood based on a sensitizing...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease. Nitrated α-synuclein (α-syn) in the blood is a potentially efficient biomarker for PD in its early stages. In this work, an ultrasensitive electrochemical immunosensor was developed for the specific detection of nitrated α-syn. Supramolecule-mediated AuNP composites (GNCs) were modified on the gold electrode as a sensing film to capture anti-nitrated α-syn. Basic characterization studies revealed that GNCs were composed of abundant binding sites and had high conductivity with a large surface area, biocompatibility, and remarkable electrochemical activity. Anti-α-syn-modified magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were used as signal amplification tags to construct a sensitive sandwich assay. With a high specific surface area, strong conductivity, and abundant active sites, GNCs as an amplifying matrix can enhance the performance of the immunoassay and obtain preliminary signal amplification. MNPs showed excellent stability and led to a net decrease in the charge-transfer resistance due to their unique spherical structure and high conductivity, resulting in a sensitive electrochemical signal change according to the nitrated α-syn concentration in the sample. Therefore, this simple nitrated α-syn immunoassay with sensitivity and selectivity has potential for practical clinical applications.