Supersensitive detection of lincomycin with an ECL aptasensor based on the synergistic integration of gold-functionalized upconversion nanoparticles and thiolated 3,4,9,10-perylene tetracarboxylic acid

Abstract

In this work, the supersensitive and selective determination of lincomycin (Lin) was achieved using a novel electroluminescent (ECL) aptasensor based on the synergistic integration of gold functionalized upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and thiolated 3,4,9,10-perylene tetracarboxylic acid (PTCA). The integration of two luminophores of UCNPs and PTCA combined the merits of the cathodoluminescence stability of UCNPs and the high quantum yield of PTCA, which significantly promoted the ECL signal and analytical performance of the proposed sensor. The introduction of gold nanoparticles in UCNPs can not only improve the conductivity and ECL performance of UCNPs but also cause them to easily integrate with thiolated PTCA (t-PTCA) via an Au-S bond. The ECL signal of UCNPs@Au/t-PTCA/GCE was almost twice as strong as that of t-PTCA/GCE and tenfold higher than that of UCNPs@Au/GCE. Because of the non-conductive protein of the Lin aptamer, the ECL intensity of apt/UCNPs@Au/t-PTCA/GCE noticeably decreased. In the presence of Lin, the aptamer was pulled down from the sensing interface, resulting in the recovery of the ECL intensity of the sensor. Under optimal conditions, our proposed sensor can quantify the concentration of Lin in the range from 1.0 × 10⁻¹⁵ to 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ M with a low detection limit of 2.4 × 10⁻¹⁶ M (S/N = 3), exhibiting high sensitivity and specificity for the determination of Lin.