We report here the design of a novel immunosensor and its application for celiac disease diagnosis, based on an electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) readout, using membrane-templated gold nanoelectrode ensembles (NEEs) as a detection platform. An original sensing strategy is presented by segregating spatially the initial electrochemical reaction and the location of the immobilized biomolecules where ECL is finally emitted. The recognition scaffold is the following: tissue transglutaminase (tTG) is immobilized as a capturing agent on the polycarbonate (PC) surface of the track-etched templating membrane. It captures the target tissue transglutaminase antibody (anti-tTG), and finally allows the immobilization of a streptavidin-modified ruthenium-based ECL label via reaction with a suitable biotinylated secondary antibody. The application of an oxidizing potential in a tri-n-propylamine (TPrA) solution generates an intense and sharp ECL signal, suitable for analytical purposes. Voltammetric and ECL analyses evidenced that the ruthenium complex is not oxidized directly at the surface of the nanoelectrodes; instead ECL is generated following the TPrA oxidation, which produces the TPrA•+ and TPrA• radicals. With NEEs operating under total overlap diffusion conditions, high local fluxes of these reactive radicals are produced by the nanoelectrodes in the immediate vicinity of the ECL labels, so that they efficiently generate the ECL signal. The radicals can diffuse over short distances and react with the Ru(bpy)32+ label. In addition, the ECL emission is obtained by applying a potential of 0.88 V versus Ag/AgCl, which is about 0.3 V lower than when ECL is initiated by the electrochemical oxidation of Ru(bpy)3(2+). The immunosensor provides ECL signals which scale with anti-tTG concentration with a linearity range between 1.5 ng·mL–1 and 10 μg·mL–1 and a detection limit of 0.5 ng·mL–1. The sensor is finally applied to the analysis of anti-tTG in human serum samples, showing to be suitable to discriminate between healthy and celiac patients.

a b s t r a c tA novel electrochemical biosensor for DNA hybridization detection based on nanoelectrode ensembles (NEEs) is presented. NEEs are prepared by electroless deposition of gold into the pores of a templating track-etched polycarbonate (PC) membrane. The wide surface of the templating membrane surrounding the nanoelectrodes is exploited to bind the capture DNA probes via amide coupling with the carboxylic groups present on the PC surface. The probes are then hybridized with the complementary target labelled with glucose oxidase (GO x ). The occurrence of the hybridization event is detected by adding, to the supporting electrolyte, excess glucose as the substrate and the (ferrocenylmethyl) trimethylammonium cation (FA þ ) as suitable redox mediator. In the case of positive hybridization, an electrocatalytic current is detected. In the proposed sensor, the biorecognition event and signal transduction occur in different but neighbouring sites, i.e., the PC surface and the nanoelectrodes, respectively; these sites are separated albeit in close proximity on a nanometer scale. Finally, the possibility to activate the PC surface by treatment with permanganate is demonstrated and the analytical performances of biosensors prepared with KMnO 4 -treated NEEs and native NEEs are compared and critically evaluated. The proposed biosensor displays high selectivity and sensitivity, with the capability to detect few picomoles of target DNA.

a b s t r a c tThe possibility to functionalize selectively with thiols or disulfides the surface of the gold nanoelectrodes of polycarbonate templated nanoelectrode ensembles (NEEs) is studied. It is shown that the Au nanoelectrodes can be coated by a self assembled monolayer (SAM) of thioctic acid (TA) or 2-mercaptoethanesulfonic (MES) acid. The study of the electrochemical behavior of SAM-modified NEEs by cyclic voltammetry (CV) at different solution pH, using ferrocenecarboxylate as an anionic redox probe (FcCOO − ) and (ferrocenylmethyl)trimethylammonium (FA + ) as a cationic redox probe, demonstrate that the SAM-modified nanoelectrodes are permselective, in that only cationic or neutral probes can access the SAM-coated nanoelectrode surface. CV, AFM and FTIR-ATR data indicate that proteins such as casein or bovine serum albumin, which are polyanionic at pH 7, adsorb on the surface of NEEs untreated with thiols, tending to block the electron transfer of the ferrocenyl redox probes. On the contrary, the pretreatment of the NEE with an anionic SAM protects the nanoelectrodes from protein fouling, allowing the detection of well shaped voltammetric patterns for the redox probe. Experimental results indicate that, in the case of MES treated NEEs, the protein is bound only onto the polycarbonate surface which surrounds the nanoelectrodes, while the tips of the gold nanoelectrodes remain protein free.

Nanoelectrode ensembles (NEEs) obtained by electroless gold deposition in track-etched poly-carbonate (PC) membranes are functionalized and applied for DNA hybridization detection, using methylene blue (MB) as electroactive probe. To this aim, an amine terminated (ss)DNA probe is immobilized on the PC surface of the NEE by reaction via carbodiimide and N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide. In order to increase the number of carboxylic groups present on PC and suitable for the functionalization, the surface of NEEs is oxidized with potassium permanganate. The presence of carboxylic functionalities is verified by spectrochemical titration with thionin acetate (THA) and the effect of the activation treatment on the electrode performances is evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV). After activation and functionalization with the probes, the NEE-based sensor is hybridized with complementary target sequences. The effect of the functionalization of the NEEs both with the (ss)DNA probe alone and after hybridization with the target, is studied by measuring the changes in the MB reduction signal by square wave voltammetry (SWV), after incubation in a suitable MB solution, rinsing and transfer to the measurement cell. It was observed that this peak signal decreases significantly after hybridization of the probe with the complementary target. Experimental evidences suggest that the interaction between MB and the guanines of (ss)DNA and (ds)DNA is at the basis of the development of the here observed analytical signal. The proposed approach allows the easy preparation and testing of NEE-based sensors for the electrochemical DNA hybridization detection.

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