Surface plasmon resonance sensor for femtomolar detection of testosterone with water-compatible macroporous molecularly imprinted film

Qingwen Zhang, Lijing Jing, Yi Wang*, Jinling Zhang, Yamin Ren, Yang Wang*, Tianxin Wei, Bo Liedberg

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

56 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A novel water-compatible macroporous molecularly imprinted film (MIF) has been developed for rapid, sensitive, and label-free detection of small molecule testosterone in urine. The MIF was synthesized by photo copolymerization of monomers (methacrylic acid [MAA] and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate [HEMA]), cross-linker (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, EGDMA), and polystyrene nanoparticles (PS NPs) in combination with template testosterone molecules. The PS NPs and template molecules were subsequently removed to form an MIF with macroporous structures and the specific recognition sites of testosterone. Incubation of artificial urine and human urine on the MIF and the non-imprinted film (NIF), respectively, indicated undetectable nonspecific adsorption. Accordingly, the MIF was applied on a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor for the detection of testosterone in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and artificial urine with a limit of detection (LOD) down to 10-15 g/ml. To the best of our knowledge, the LOD is considered as one of the lowest among the SPR sensors for the detection of small molecules. The control experiments performed with analogue molecules such as progesterone and estradiol demonstrated the good selectivity of this MIF for sensing testosterone. Furthermore, this MIF-based SPR sensor shows high stability and reproducibility over 8 months of storage at room temperature, which is more robust than protein-based biosensors.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7-14
Number of pages8
JournalAnalytical Biochemistry
Volume463
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Oct 2014

Keywords

  • Macroporous film
  • Molecularly imprinted film (MIF)
  • Sensor
  • Surface plasmon resonance (SPR)
  • Testosterone
  • Water-compatible

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