Ratiometric surface-enhanced Raman scattering quantification of extracellular matrix metalloproteinase-2 activity for...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Oncology

Background:

• Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), particularly MMP-2, are crucial in cancer metastasis by degrading the extracellular matrix.
• Accurate detection of MMP activity in the tumor microenvironment is vital for cancer diagnosis and prognosis.
• Existing detection methods may lack the sensitivity or reliability needed for complex biological samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a ratiometric Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) sensing strategy for sensitive and reliable quantification of MMP-2 activity.
• To establish an interference-free internal standard for accurate signal normalization.
• To demonstrate the potential of the developed sensing strategy in differentiating cancer cells from normal cells.

Main Methods:

• Construction of a core-satellite plasmonic substrate using self-assembled silver nanoparticles on a gold core for enhanced SERS.
• Utilizing rhodamine B (RhB)-labeled peptides as MMP-2 substrates and 4-mercaptobenzonitrile (MBN) as an internal standard.
• Employing a ratiometric readout (I₂₂₂₃/I₁₆₅₀) for signal normalization, compensating for environmental interference.

Main Results:

• The ratiometric SERS strategy achieved accurate quantification of MMP-2 activity from 10 to 100 ng/mL.
• A low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.715 ng/mL for MMP-2 was achieved.
• The nanoprobe successfully differentiated breast cancer cells from normal cells based on endogenous MMP-2 activity.

Conclusions:

• The developed ratiometric SERS sensing strategy offers a robust and sensitive platform for MMP-2 activity detection.
• The interference-free internal standard enhances the reliability and reproducibility of the measurements.
• This approach holds significant potential for applications in tumor biology research and accurate clinical diagnosis of cancer.