Polymer dots synergized with a NiO hole transporting layer and poly(amido amine) dendrimer: toward sensitive photocathodic detection of tyrosinase level in serum

• Published in: Sensors & diagnostics Vol. 1; no. 6; pp. 1218 - 1223
• Main Authors: Chen, Jia-Hao, Wang, Cheng-Shuang, Zhu, Yu-Yue, Li, Cheng-Jie, Li, Cheng-Jun, Kong, Fen-Ying, Zhao, Wei-Wei, Xu, Jing-Juan, Chen, Hong-Yuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 14-11-2022
• ISSN: 2635-0998; 2635-0998
• DOI: 10.1039/D2SD00131D

The tyrosinase (TYR) level in human serum has been generally regarded as a biomarker of metastatic melanoma and vitiligo. In this work, established upon a unique poly(amido amine) (PAMAM)/polymer dots (Pdots)/NiO hole transporting layer (HTL) heterostructure, cathodic photoelectrochemical bioanalysis has been demonstrated for TYR detection in serum. In the detection, TYR could catalyze the generation of electron acceptor quinones, which could be covalently coupled to the amine groups on the PAMAM through the Michael addition reaction. The photo-induced electron transfer (PET) from Pdots/NiO heterojunction to quinones under light stimulation would result in high-efficacy generation of cathodic photocurrents, and the as-prepared photocathodic biosensor could achieve sensitive TYR detection in a linear range of 0.1–1000 U L
−1
(
R
2
= 0.996) with a detection limit of 0.03 U L
−1
. The biosensor also exhibits applicability to TYR in actual human serum samples. This work provides a feasible platform for photocathodic bioanalysis towards TYR detection, which is envisioned to be applied for practical clinical diagnosis.