An electrochemical aptasensor based on hybridization chain reaction with enzyme-signal amplification for interferon-gamma detection.

A novel electrochemical aptasensor based on hybridization chain reaction (HCR) with enzyme-signal amplification was constructed for the detection of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). In this aptasensor, the recognition probes which contained the sequence of IFN-γ aptamer were initially binded to IFN-γ, and the unbound recognition probes were captured on the electrode as an initiator to trigger the HCR. The two DNA hairpins bio-H1 and bio-H2 were opened by the recognition probe, and bound one by one on the electrode. The biotin was used as a tracer in the hairpins and streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase (SA-ALP) as a reporter molecule. Then, SA-ALP converted its electro-inactive substrate 1-naphthyl phosphate into an electroactive derivative 1-naphthol generating amplified electrochemical signal by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The activity of the immobilized enzyme was voltammetrically determined by measuring the amount of 1-naphthol generated for enzymatic dephosphorylation of 1-naphthyl phosphate. The electrochemical signal observed was inversely related to the concentration of IFN-γ. The proposed approach showed a high sensitivity for IFN-γ in a concentration range of 0.5-300 nM with a detection limit of 0.3 nM. The sensing system also provided satisfactory results for the detection of IFN-γ in the cell media.