gold nanoparticle Archives – Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering

Co-ordinated split aptamer assembly and disassembly on Gold nanoparticle for functional detection of HIV-1 tat

September 22, 2019 By Editor

Abstract – Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a life threatening, weakens the immune system upon infection, thus ultimately resulting in the fatal health issues. This situation necessitates the generation of different strategies for HIV detection. HIV-1 Tat, a transactivator of HIV gene expression, was chosen in this study as the target of a non-functional split aptamer. Implementation of split aptamer has been demonstrated in this work for colorimetric detection of HIV-1 Tat. An unmodified gold nanoparticle (GNP)-based colorimetric assay was used for the visible detection of the proof, displays color transitions from red to purple in relation to the dose-dependency of HIV-1 Tat against the split aptamer in ionic solutions. The visible color transition was characterized using UV–vis spectrophotometer showing spectrum shift and supported by Scanning Electron Microscopy observation. With addition of sodium chloride, the color of the solution started to change to purple and spectrum started to shift to higher wavelength due to aggregation at HIV-1 Tat concentration as low as 10 nM. Specificity test was conducted with duplexed split aptamer and HIV-1 p24 has shown slight color changes. With HIV-1 Nef, GNP solution retains the color similar to the control, which indicated the specific split aptamer interaction to HIV-1 Tat.

Corresponding Author: Ruslinda A. Rahim
Corresponding Author’s Email: ruslinda@unimap.edu.my

Download: PDF

Complementation of ELISA and an Interdigitated Electrode Surface in Gold Nanoparticle Functionalization for Effective Detection of Human Blood Clotting Defects

July 29, 2019 By Editor

Abstract – Developing an enhanced diagnosis using biosensors is important for the treatment of patients before disease complications arise. Improving biosensors would enable the detection of various low-abundance disease biomarkers. Efficient immobilization of probes/receptors on the sensing surface is one of the efficient ways to enhance detection. Herein, we introduced the pre-alkaline sensing surface with amine functionalization for capturing gold nanoparticle (GNP) conjugated to human blood clotting factor IX (FIX), and we demonstrated the excellent performance of the strategy. We have chosen the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the interdigitated electrode (IDE), which are widely used, to demonstrate our method. The optimal amount for silanization has been found to be 2.5%, and 15-nm-sized GNPs are ideal and characterized. The limit of FIX detection was attained with ELISA at 100 pM with the premixed GNPs and FIX, which shows 60-fold improvement in sensitivity without biofouling, as compared to the conventional ELISA. Further, FIX was detected with higher specificity in human serum at a 1:1280 dilution, which is equivalent to 120 pM FIX. These results were complemented by the analysis on IDE, where improved detection at 25 pM was achieved, and FIX was detected in human serum at the dilution of 1:640. These optimized surfaces are useful for improving the detection of different diseases on varied sensing surfaces.

Corresponding Author: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Subash C B Gopinath
Corresponding Author’s Email: subash@unimap.edu.my

Download: PDF

A new nano-worm structure from gold-nanoparticle mediated random curving of zinc oxide nanorods

December 17, 2015 By Editor

Abstract – Creating novel nanostructures is a primary step for high-performance analytical sensing. Herein, a new worm like nanostructure with Zinc Oxide-gold (ZnO/Au) hybrid was fabricated through an aqueous hydrothermal method, by doping Au-nanoparticle (AuNP) on the growing ZnO lattice. During ZnO growth, fine tuning the solution temperature expedites random curving of ZnO nanorods and forms nano-worms. The nano-worms which were evidenced by morphological, physical and structural analyses, revealed elongated structures protruding from the surface (length: 1. μm; diameter: ~100. nm). The appropriate peaks for the face centred cubic gold were (111) and (200), as seen from X-ray diffractogram. The strong interrelation between Au and ZnO was manifested by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The combined surface area increment from the nanoparticle radii and ZnO nanorod random curving gives raise an enhancement in detection sensitivity by increasing bio-loading. ‘Au-decorated hybrid nano-worm’ was immobilized with a probe DNA from Vibrio Cholera and duplexed with a target which was revealed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Our novel Au-decorated hybrid nano-worm is suitable for high-performance bio-sensing, as evidenced by impedance spectroscopy, having higher-specificity and attained femtomolar (10. fM) sensitivity. Further, higher stability, reproducibility and regeneration on this sensing surface were demonstrated.

Keywords – Cholera, DNA, Gold nanoparticle, Nano-worm, Nanorod, Zinc Oxide

Corresponding Author: Uda Hashim
Corresponding Author’s Email: uda@unimap.edu.my

Full text: PDF

‘Spotted Nanoflowers’: Gold-seeded Zinc Oxide Nanohybrid for Selective Bio-capture

September 8, 2015 By Editor

Abstract – Hybrid gold nanostructures seeded into nanotextured zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoflowers (NFs) were created for novel biosensing applications. The selected ‘spotted NFs’ had a 30-nm-thick gold nanoparticle (AuNP) layer, chosen from a range of AuNP thicknesses, sputtered onto the surface. The generated nanohybrids, characterized by morphological, physical and structural analyses, were uniformly AuNP-seeded onto the ZnO NFs with an average length of 2–3 μm. Selective capture of molecular probes onto the seeded AuNPs was evidence for the specific interaction with DNA from pathogenic Leptospirosis-causing strains via hybridization and mis-match analyses. The attained detection limit was 100 fM as determined via impedance spectroscopy. High levels of stability, reproducibility and regeneration of the sensor were obtained. Selective DNA immobilization and hybridization were confirmed by nitrogen and phosphorus peaks in an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The created nanostructure hybrids illuminate the mechanism of generating multiple-target, high-performance detection on a single NF platform, which opens a new avenue for array-based medical diagnostics.

Corresponding Author: Uda Hashim
Corresponding Author’s Email: uda@unimap.edu.my

Full text: PDF