Photothermal visual sensing of alkaline phosphatase based on the etching of Au@MnO₂ core-shell nanoparticles

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), as a crucial enzyme involved in many physiological activities, is always used as one of the significant biomarkers in clinical diagnosis. Herein, a novel, simple, and effective photothermal quantitative method based on the etching of MnO₂-coated gold nanoparticles (Au@MnO₂ NPs) was established for ALP activity assay with a household thermometer-based visual readout. The photothermal effect of Au@MnO₂ NPs is much higher than that of MnO₂ NPs or Au NPs. The MnO₂ shell of Au@MnO₂ NPs can be etched by ascorbic acid, a product of ALP-catalyzed hydrolysis of 2-phospho-l-ascorbic acid. With the etching of Au@MnO₂ NPs, the photothermal conversion efficiency decreased gradually, causing the decrease of the temperature increment of the solutions by degrees. A household thermometer, instead of large-scale and professional instruments, was used as a signal reader to realize the visual quantitative detection. The photothermal platform was used successfully for the determination of ALP with a wide linear range from 2.0 to 50 U/L and a detection limit as low as 0.75 U/L. Moreover, the inhibition efficiency of sodium vanadate for ALP activity was investigated, proving the photothermal quantitative method will be a potential platform for screening enzyme inhibitors. Such a sensitive, facile, and low-cost sensing assay provides a new prospect to develop platforms for point-of-care testing.