Fabrication of self-healing magnetic nanoreceptors for glycoprotein via integrating boronate-affinity-oriented and sequential surface imprinting

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as artificial receptors have been widely applied in various fields. However, construction of MIPs for precise recognition of glycoprotein still remains a rather challenging task. To overcome this problem, we first fabricated boronate-affinity-oriented and sequential-surface imprinting magnetic nanoparticles (BSIMN) through integrating the boronate-affinity-oriented and sequential surface imprinting. The boronate-affinity-oriented immobilization of glycoprotein template endowed the BSIMN with homogeneous imprinted cavities. In addition, the polydopamine (PDA) imprinted layer was introduced by self-polymerization of dopamine in the first imprinting process, and then the phenylboronic acid (PBA) imprinted layer was introduced by boronate-affinity interaction in the second imprinting process. Surprisingly, the PBA imprinted layer possessed self-healing property due to the presence of pH-dependent boronate-affinity interaction between two imprinted layers. Therefore, the fabricated BSIMN exhibited excellent selectivity toward glycoprotein templates. To quantitatively detect glycoproteins in biological samples, the BSIMN was linked with hydrophilic rhodamine B-loaded/boronic acid-modified graphene oxide (HRBGO), which could selectively label glycoprotein and output amplified signal. In quantitative analysis, target glycoproteins were firstly captured by BSIMN and then specifically labeled by HRBGO; subsequently, the releasing agent was added to release numerous rhodamine B from HRBGO, and the corresponding fluorescence signal was used for further quantitative analysis. The proposed strategy showed ultrahigh sensitivity for ovalbumin, carcinoembryonic antigen and alpha fetoprotein with limit of detection of 4.5 fg mL-1, 3.6 fg mL-1 and 4.2 fg mL-1, respectively, and was successfully applied in determination of these glycoproteins in serum samples.

Automated summary

By integrating boronate-affinity-oriented and sequential surface imprinting, boronate-affinity-oriented and sequential-surface imprinting magnetic nanoparticles (BSIMN) were fabricated. The BSIMN exhibited excellent selectivity towards glycoprotein templates and was successfully applied in quantitative detection of glycoproteins.