A facile ratiometric electrochemical strategy for ultrasensitive monitoring HER2 using polydopamine-grafted-ferrocene/reduced graphene oxide, Au@Ag nanoshuttles and hollow Ni@PtNi yolk-shell nanocages

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is believed as a clinically important breast cancer marker, and thereby it is extremely imperative to develop a highly sensitive and effective strategy for specific recognition and assay of HER2. In this work, a facile ratiometric electrochemical immunosensor was fabricated for sensitively monitoring HER2 as a model analyte, in which reduced graphene oxide-polydopamine-grafted-ferrocene/Au@Ag nanoshuttles (Au@Ag NSs) performed as electrode material and hollow Ni@PtNi yolk-shell nanocages-thionine (Ni@PtNi HNCs) as signal tags, which provided two distinct electrochemical signals from Fc and Thi, respectively. The Au@Ag NSs endowed the rGO-PDA-Fc with improved biocompatibility and dramatic magnification of the Fc signals upon sensing interface. Also, by integration of the hollow structure, enlarged specific surface area and superior catalytic ability together, the Ni@PtNi HNCs-Thi achieved substantial amplification in the detection signals from Thi. Benefiting from the above, the as-developed immunosensor exhibited a broad linear range (0.01 similar to 100 ng mL(-1)) and a low detection limit (3.3 pg mL(-1)) for HER2 (S/N = 3), followed by exploring its application in actual serum samples with acceptable results. It holds great potential for clinical screening of cancer biomarkers and point of-care assays.

Automated summary

An electrochemical immunosensor was developed for sensitive monitoring of the breast cancer marker HER2, utilizing innovative materials and signal tags to achieve rapid detection with a broad linear range and low detection limit. This sensor shows great potential for screening cancer biomarkers and point-of-care assays.