Ultrasensitive photoelectrochemical aptasensor for detecting telomerase activity based on Ag2S/Ag decorated ZnIn2S4/C3N4 3D/2D Z-scheme heterostructures and amplified by Au/Cu2+-boron-nitride nanozyme

Enzyme-mediated signal amplification strategies have gained substantial attention in photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensing, while natural enzyme on the photoelectrode inevitably obstructs the interfacial electron transfer, in turn deteriorating the photocurrent responses. Herein, Au nanoparticles and Cu2+-modified boron nitride nanosheets (AuNPs/Cu2+-BNNS) behaved as nanozyme to achieve remarkable magnification in the PEC signals from a novel signal-off aptasensor for ultra-sensitive assay of telomerase (TE) activity based on Ag2S/Ag nanoparticles decorated ZnIn2S4/C3N4 Z-scheme heterostructures (termed as Ag2S/Ag/ZnIn2S4/C3N4, synthesized by hydrothermal treatment). Specifically, telomerase primer sequences (TS) were extended by TE in the presence of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs), which was directly bond with the thiol modified complementary DNA (cDNA), achieving efficient linkage with the nanozyme via Au-S bond. The immobilized nanoenzyme catalyzed the oxidation between 4-chloro-1-naphthol (4-CN) and H2O2 to generate insoluble precipitation on the photo-electrode. By virtue of the inhibited PEC signals with the TE-enabled TS extension, an aptasensor for assay of TE activity was developed, showing the wide linear range of 50-5x10(5) cell mL(-1) and a low detection limit of 19 cell mL(-1). This work provides some valuable guidelines for developing advanced nanozyme-based PEC bioanalysis of diverse cancer cells.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel aptasensor was designed for ultra-sensitive detection of telomerase activity by utilizing Au nanoparticles and Cu2+-modified boron nitride nanosheets as nanozyme. By using Ag2S/Ag nanoparticles decorated ZnIn2S4/C3N4 Z-scheme heterostructures and PEC signal amplification strategy, an aptasensor with a wide linear range and low detection limit was successfully developed.