Nonenzymatic Amperometric Aptamer Cytosensor for Ultrasensitive Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells and Dynamic Evaluation of Cell Surface N-Glycan Expression

Dynamic assessment of glycan expression on the cell surface and accurate determination of circulating tumor cells are increasingly imperative for cancer diagnosis and therapeutics. Herein, a unique and versatile nonenzymatic sandwich-structured electrochemical cytosensor was developed. The cytosensor was constructed based on a cell-specific aptamer, the lectin-functionalized porous core-shell palladium gold nanoparticles (Pd@Au NPs). To establish the cytosensor, amine-modified-SYL3C aptamer was first attached to the surface of aminated Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles (Fe3O4@SiO2-NH2 NPs) through cross-linked reaction via glutaraldehyde. Besides, in terms of noncovalent assembly of concanavalin A on Pd@Au NPs, a lectin-functionalized nanoprobe was established. This nanoprobe had the capabilities of both the specific carbohydrate recognition and the current signal amplification in view of the Pd@Au NPs as the electrocatalyst for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Herein, we used MCF-7 cells as a model target, and the constructed cytosensor showed a low detection limit (down to three cells), a wide linear detection ranging from 100 to 1 x 10(6) cells mL(-1). The established method sensitively realized the detection of the amount of cell and exact evaluation of glycan expression on cell surface, demonstrating great application prospects.