A simple and sensitive electrochemical sensor for the detection of peptidase activity

In this work, a simple and sensitive electrochemical sensor was proposed for the detection of beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) activity. Firstly, the BACE1 specific peptide was modified onto the Au electrode to graft a single-strand DNA with polycytosine DNA sequence (dC(12)) via amide bonding between peptide and dC(12). Because the dC(12) is abundant in phosphate groups, thus it can react with molybdate to form redox molybdophosphate, which can generate electrochemical current. Using BACE1 as a model peptidase, the proposed sensor shows a linear response range from 1 to 15 U/mL and limit of detection down to 0.05 U/mL. The sensor displays good performance for the BACE1 activity detection in human serum samples, which may have potential applications in the clinical diagnostics of Alzheimer's disease.

Automated summary

A simple and sensitive electrochemical sensor was developed for detecting BACE1 activity. A BACE1-specific peptide was modified onto an Au electrode to attach a single-strand DNA with polycytosine DNA sequence. The sensor demonstrated a linear response range from 1 to 15 U/mL and a limit of detection of 0.05 U/mL. It exhibited good performance for detecting BACE1 activity in human serum samples, suggesting its potential application in clinical diagnostics of Alzheimer's disease.