Resonance energy transfer-based electrochemiluminescence aptasensor for serotonin detection

Area of Science:

• * Biomedical Engineering
• * Analytical Chemistry
• * Nanotechnology

Background:

• * Serotonin is a crucial neurotransmitter involved in numerous physiological functions and implicated in various diseases.
• * Accurate and sensitive detection of serotonin is vital for clinical diagnostics and research.
• * Existing detection methods may face limitations in sensitivity, specificity, or complexity.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To develop a novel electrochemiluminescence-resonance energy transfer (ECL-RET) aptasensor for highly sensitive serotonin detection.
• * To utilize zinc-based metal-organic frameworks (Zn-MOFs) as an ECL donor and Pt@Cu2O cubic nanocrystals (CNs) as an acceptor.
• * To investigate the mechanism involving catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA)-driven DNA walkers for signal amplification.

Main Methods:

• * Fabrication of an ECL-RET aptasensor using Zn-MOFs and Pt@Cu2O CNs.
• * Employing a CHA-driven DNA walker mechanism for enhanced signal transduction.
• * Detection of serotonin by monitoring the inhibition of ECL signal due to target binding.

Main Results:

• * The aptasensor demonstrated a wide linear range for serotonin detection from 10⁻¹² to 10⁻⁶ M.
• * Achieved a low limit of detection of 0.5 pM for serotonin.
• * Validated the aptasensor's performance with satisfactory recovery rates in serum and urine samples.

Conclusions:

• * The developed ECL-RET aptasensor offers a highly sensitive and efficient platform for serotonin detection.
• * The combination of Zn-MOFs, Pt@Cu2O CNs, and CHA-driven DNA walkers provides a robust system for biosensing.
• * This approach presents a new strategy for constructing advanced ECL-RET systems for various analytes.