Fe₃O₄ Nanozymes with Aptamer-Tuned Catalysis for Selective Colorimetric Analysis of ATP in Blood

Abstract

In this work, a simple and highly selective colorimetric method has been developed for quantifying trace-level ATP using Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs). It was discovered that Fe3O4 NPs could present the dramatically enhanced catalysis once anchored with ATP-specific aptamers (Apts), which is about 6-fold larger than that of bare Fe3O4 NPs. In the presence of ATP, however, the Apts would be desorbed from Fe3O4 NPs due to the Apts-target binding event, leading to the decrease of catalysis rationally depending on ATP concentrations. A colorimetric strategy was thereby developed to facilitate the highly selective detection of ATP, showing the linear concentrations ranging from 0.50 to 100 μM. Subsequently, the developed ATP sensor was employed for the evaluation of ATP in blood with the analysis performances comparably better than those of the documented detection methods, showing the potential applications in the clinical laboratory for the detective diagnosis of some ATP-indicative diseases. Importantly, such a catalysis-based detection strategy should be extended to other kinds of nanozymes with intrinsic catalysis properties (i.e., peroxidase and oxidase-like activities), promising as a universal candidate for monitoring various biological species simply by using target-specific recognition elements like Apts and antibodies.

A pH-responsive bioassay for sensitive colorimetric detection of adenosine triphosphate based on switchable DNA aptamer and metal ion–urease interactions

“…The detection of limit (LOD) is calculated to be 1.6 nM based on the criterion of signal-tonoise ratio = 3. Compared with some existing colorimetric methods for ATP detection, the proposed biosensor provided lower detection limit [9,26,31,32]. The results demonstrate that highly sensitive detection of ATP can be realized.…”

Recent Advances in Aptamer Sensors

“…The mb-RCA is integrated with a magnetic separation technology to avoid potential interference, as shown in Figure 4B; the system successfully detected the carcinogenic human PDGF-BB biomarker with a LOD of 0.94 pM [103]. The Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles incorporated with aptamers were used for assaying trace levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) biomarkers colorimetrically, as provided by Li et al in Figure 4C [106]. The catalytic activity of the Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles in the conversion of the colorless TMB into blue TMB was enhanced significantly after functionalization with an ATP aptamer.…”

Recent Advances in Nucleic Acid Modulation for Functional Nanozyme

“…Ultimately, the enzyme activity was enhanced. Based on this work [94], Li et al [95] analyzed the content of ATP in blood with a linear concentration range of 0.50-100 µM (Figure 7C), which can be used to diagnose ATP-indicative diseases [96,97] and is better than most methods that have been reported [98][99][100][101][102][103].…”

“…The energy change came from the enhancement of enzyme catalysis, and it was converted into a light signal. Reprinted with permission from reference [95]. Copyright 2019, The American Chemical Society.…”