A Graphene Oxide-Based Fluorescent Biosensor for the Analysis of Peptide-Receptor Interactions and Imaging in Somatostatin Receptor Subtype 2 Overexpressed Tumor Cells

Analysis of peptide-receptor interactions provides insights for understanding functions of proteins in cells. In this work, we report the development of a fluorescent biosensor for the analysis of peptide-receptor interactions using graphene oxide (GO) and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled octreotide (FOC). Octreotide is a synthesized cyclic peptide with somatostatin-like bioactivity that has been clinically employed. FOC exhibits high adsorption affinity for GO, and its binding results in efficient fluorescence quenching of FITC. Interestingly, the specific binding of the antibody anti-octreotide (AOC) with FOC competitively releases FOC from the GO surface, leading to the recovery of fluorescence. By using this GO-based fluorescent platform, we can detect AOC with a low detection limit of 2 ng/mL. As a step further, we employ this GO-FOC biosensor to image somatostatin receptor subtype 2 overexpressed AR42J tumor cells, which demonstrates high promise for molecular imaging in cancer diagnosis.