Ultrasensitive PD-L1-Expressing Exosome Immunosensors Based on a Chemiluminescent Nickel-Cobalt Hydroxide Nanoflower...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Oncology Diagnostics

Background:

• Programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1)-expressing exosomes are potential biomarkers for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) diagnosis and classification.
• There is a critical need for highly sensitive and accurate chemiluminescence (CL) immunosensors to detect these exosomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an ultrasensitive sandwich CL immunosensor for detecting PD-L1-expressing exosomes.
• To evaluate the immunosensor's efficacy in diagnosing LUAD and differentiating between LUAD subtypes.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of N-(4-aminobutyl)-N-ethylisopropanol-functionalized nickel-cobalt hydroxide (NiCo-DH-AA) hollow nanoflower structures as CL nanoprobes, bridged by gold nanoparticles (AuNPs).
• Construction of a sandwich CL immunosensor using PD-L1 antibody-modified NiCo-DH-AA as the signal probe and anti-CD63 antibody-modified magnetic beads as the capture platform.
• Characterization of the CL emission properties and analytical performance of the developed immunosensor.

Main Results:

• The NiCo-DH-AA nanoprobe exhibited strong and stable CL emission due to its catalytic capability and large surface area.
• The developed immunosensor achieved a wide detection range (4.75 × 10³–4.75 × 10⁸ particles/mL) and a low detection limit (7.76 × 10² particles/mL), significantly surpassing existing CL methods.
• The immunosensor demonstrated high accuracy in differentiating healthy individuals from LUAD patients (100% specificity, 87.5% sensitivity) and in distinguishing between minimally invasive and invasive adenocarcinoma (92.3% specificity, 52.6% sensitivity).

Conclusions:

• The study presents a novel, ultrasensitive, and accurate CL immunosensor for LUAD diagnosis based on PD-L1-expressing exosomes.
• The developed method offers a simple, noninvasive approach for LUAD classification, with significant potential for clinical application.
• The functionalized NiCo-DH-AA nanoprobes represent a promising platform for developing advanced CL biosensing systems.