Sensitive electrochemical immunosensor via amide hydrolysis by DT-diaphorase combined with five redox-cycling reactions

Amide hydrolysis using enzyme labels, such as proteases, occurs at a slower rate than phosphoester and carboxyl ester hydrolysis. Thus, it is not very useful for obtaining high signal amplification in biosensors. However, amide hydrolysis is less sensitive to nonenzymatic spontaneous hydrolysis, allowing for lower background levels. Herein, we report that amide hydrolysis by DT-diaphorase (DT-D) occurs rapidly and that its combination with five redox-cycling reactions allows for the development of a highly sensitive electrochemical immunosensor. DT-D rapidly generates ortho-aminohydroxy-naphthalene (oAN) from its amide substrate via amide hydrolysis, which not even trypsin, a highly catalytic protease, can achieve. NADH, which is required for amide hydrolysis, advantageously acts as a reducing agent for rapid electrooxidation-based redox-cycling reactions. In the presence of oAN, DT-D, and NADH, two redox-cycling reactions rapidly occur. In the additional presence of an electron mediator, Ru(NH3)(6)(3+) [Ru(III)], three more redox-cycling reactions occur because Ru(III) reacts rapidly with oAN and DT-D. Although the O-2-related redox-cycling reactions and redox reaction decrease electrochemical signals, this signal-decreasing effect is not significant in air-saturated solutions. The slow electrooxidation of NADH at an indium tin oxide electrode and sluggish reaction between NADH and Ru(III) allow for low electrochemical backgrounds. When the developed signal amplification scheme is tested for the sandwich-type electrochemical detection of parathyroid hormone (PTH), a detection limit of similar to 1 pg/mL is obtained. The detection method is highly sensitive and can accurately measure PTH in serum samples.

Automated summary

Amide hydrolysis is slower than phosphoester and carboxyl ester hydrolysis, but it has lower sensitivity to nonenzymatic spontaneous hydrolysis. This study shows that DT-diaphorase can rapidly catalyze amide hydrolysis and when combined with five redox-cycling reactions, it enables the development of a highly sensitive electrochemical immunosensor.