Novel nanocomposite of spiky-shaped gold nanourchins/titanium dioxide/nafion for amplified signal and efficient electrochemiluminescence detection of ovomucoid

This work reports on the first electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor employing a novel nanostructured composite of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and gold nanourchins (AuNU) to detect protein allergen Ovomucoid (Ovm) found in eggs. TiO2 and AuNU were dispersed in Nafion and drop-casted onto SPGE with Tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)-ruthenium (II) ([Ru(bpy)(3)](2+)) and tri-n-propylamine (TPrA) served as strong luminophore/co-reactant pairs as a source of ECL signals. The linear range, limit of detection, reproducibility and practical applications of the sensor were assessed. The fabricated ECL immuosensor produced a promising limit of detection of as low as 0.01 pg/mL. Two linear ranges of 0.01-50 pg/mL and 100-750 pg/mL with corresponding correlation coefficients of R-2 = 0.99136 and R-2 = 0.97829) respectively, were determined. Despite its simple fabrication method, this label-free immunosensor also showcased excellent selectivity, reproducibility, interference-resistance and yielded outstanding recoveries between 97.42 and 104.05% of Ovm analysis in spiked real food samples.

Automated summary

This work presents the development of an electrochemiluminescence immunosensor using a novel nanostructured composite of titanium dioxide and gold nanourchins for the detection of protein allergen Ovomucoid found in eggs. The sensor exhibited a low limit of detection, wide linear range, and excellent selectivity, reproducibility, and recovery rates in real food samples.