Dimeric-serotonin bivalent ligands induced gold nanoparticle aggregation for highly sensitive and selective serotonin...

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Serotonin, a key neurotransmitter, plays a crucial role in various physiological processes.
• Current methods for serotonin detection can be complex and lack sensitivity.
• Enzyme-mediated oxidation of serotonin can lead to self-assembly and complex formation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a rapid, sensitive, and selective colorimetric assay for serotonin detection.
• To explore the utility of dimeric serotonin as a recognition unit for gold nanoparticle aggregation.
• To establish a cost-effective and straightforward analytical method for serotonin quantification.

Main Methods:

• Dimerization of serotonin to form a bivalent ligand.
• Enzyme-catalyzed peroxidation using horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
• Utilizing gold nanoparticles (GNPs) aggregation for colorimetric detection.

Main Results:

• The dimeric serotonin assay demonstrated sensitive and robust colorimetric detection.
• Achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of 2.6 nM in phosphate buffer and 2.81 nM in human serum.
• Exhibited a dynamic range of 100-300 nM in buffer conditions.
• Visible color imaging of immunosensors showed detection limits as low as 2.90 nM.

Conclusions:

• Dimeric serotonin serves as an effective recognition element for GNP aggregation-based assays.
• The developed colorimetric assay offers a sensitive, selective, and quantitative method for serotonin detection.
• This approach provides a promising platform for rapid and inexpensive analytical needs in biological samples.