Cascade catalysis-based signal amplification for colorimetric detection of β-galactosidase activity and its...

β-Galactosidase (β-Gal) serves as an important biomarker for primary ovarian cancer and cellular senescence, as well as a key indicator for Escherichia coli (E. coli). Besides, β-Gal serves as a common reporter enzyme in biosensing systems and is widely applied to improve lactose digestion in food industry. Current β-Gal detection strategies mainly rely on probe-based one-step reactions, which often suffer from limited sensitivity. Therefore, the development of highly sensitive β-Gal detection methods based on signal amplification is urgently needed and remains a great challenge.

We present a novel β-Gal activity assay based on a cascade catalysis-mediated signal amplification strategy. This system integrates β-Gal-triggered enzymatic hydrolysis with the catalytic activity of a Co²⁺ complex. Specifically, β-Gal hydrolyzes the probe 8-hydroxyquinoline-β-d-galactopyranoside to release 8-hydroxyquinoline (8-HQ), and the released 8-HQ coordinates with Co²⁺ to activate its peroxidase-like activity. The activated Co²⁺ complex then catalyzes the oxidation of 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonate) (ABTS), generating an amplified colorimetric signal. The assay exhibits a linear response to β-Gal over the range of 0.05-5 U/L with a low detection limit of 0.04 U/L, markedly outperforming conventional colorimetric methods as well as many reported fluorescent and electrochemical assays. The method was successfully applied to β-Gal detection in human serum and E. coli samples, and the results show good agreement with those obtained using a commercial fluorescent probe.

This cascade catalysis-based strategy presents a novel solution for the highly demanded analysis of β-Gal activity, achieving substantially enhanced sensitivity through a simple and low-cost design without a noticeable increase in detection time. Owing to the facile functionalization and favorable bioactivity of 8-HQ, this strategy also holds promise for other diagnostic and therapeutic applications.