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Electrochemical immunosensor AuNPs/NG-PANI/ITO-PET for the determination of BDNF in depressed mice serum

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Abstract

A novel electrochemical immunosensor was developed for highly sensitive detection of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a well-known depression marker. The immunosensor was fabricated by modifying indium tin oxide-coated polyethylene terephthalate (ITO-PET) with N-doped graphene-polyaniline (NG-PANI) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to enhance the conductivity and protein loading capacity. Subsequently, BDNF was immobilized onto the electrode surface via gold-sulfur bonds, followed by the attachment of biotinylated antibody (Biotin-Ab) and horseradish peroxidase-avidin (HRP-Avidin) to create the final immunosensor (HRP-Avidin–Biotin-Ab-BDNF-AuNPs/NG-PANI/ITO-PET). The proposed immunosensor exhibited a linear range of determination (0.781–400 pg/mL) with a low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.261 pg/mL (S/N = 3) and excellent reproducibility (RSD = 1.4%) and stability (92.7%, RSD = 3.1%). Additionally, the immunosensor demonstrated good anti-interference performance and good recovery (98.1–107%). To evaluate the practical utility of the immunosensor, BDNF levels were quantified in the serum of mice with depression induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). The results indicated that the serum BDNF levels were significantly decreased in the depression model group compared with the control group, highlighting the potential of this immunosensor for clinical detection of BDNF in depression diagnosis and treatment.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81972018), the major science and technology project of Gansu Province (21ZD4FA013), the People’s Livelihood Special Project from Technical Innovation Guide Plan of Gansu Province (20CX4FK014), the Key Talent Project of Organization Department of Gansu Provincial Party Committee ([2022] Gan-71), the Central Government Guiding Local Science and Technology Development Fund Project (22ZY1QA012), the Special Project of Science and Technology Commissioner of Gansu Province (22CX8GA009), and the Talent Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project of Lanzhou (2017-RC-115, 2020-RC-41).

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  1. Hong Wei and Bolu Sun contributed equally to this article.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy, State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Codonopsis Radix Industrial Technology Engineering Research Center, Gansu Province, Lanzhou University, Gansu, 730000, Lanzhou, China

    Hong Wei, YuanYuan Li, Yan** Wang, Yan Chen, Min Guo, **aohui Mo & Fangdi Hu

  2. School of Life Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, China

    Bolu Sun

  3. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Yongling Du

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  1. Hong Wei
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Wei, H., Sun, B., Li, Y. et al. Electrochemical immunosensor AuNPs/NG-PANI/ITO-PET for the determination of BDNF in depressed mice serum. Microchim Acta 190, 330 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-023-05878-w

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