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. 2021 Sep 2;188(10):316.
doi: 10.1007/s00604-021-04974-z.

Surface plasmon resonance aptasensor based on niobium carbide MXene quantum dots for nucleocapsid of SARS-CoV-2 detection

Affiliations

Surface plasmon resonance aptasensor based on niobium carbide MXene quantum dots for nucleocapsid of SARS-CoV-2 detection

Rongyuan Chen et al. Mikrochim Acta. .

Abstract

A novel label-free surface plasmon resonance (SPR) aptasensor has been constructed for the detection of N-gene of SARS-CoV-2 by using thiol-modified niobium carbide MXene quantum dots (Nb2C-SH QDs) as the bioplatform for anchoring N-gene-targeted aptamer. In the presence of SARS-CoV-2 N-gene, the immobilized aptamer strands changed their conformation to specifically bind with N-gene. It thus increased the contact area or enlarged the distance between aptamer and the SPR chip, resulting in a change of the SPR signal irradiated by the laser (He-Ne) with the wavelength (λ) of 633 nm. Nb2C QDs were derived from Nb2C MXene nanosheets via a solvothermal method, followed by functionalization with octadecanethiol through a self-assembling method. Subsequently, the gold chip for SPR measurements was modified with Nb2C-SH QDs via covalent binding of the Au-S bond also by self-assembling interaction. Nb2C-SH QDs not only resulted in high bioaffinity toward aptamer but also enhanced the SPR response. Thus, the Nb2C-SH QD-based SPR aptasensor had low limit of detection (LOD) of 4.9 pg mL-1 toward N-gene within the concentration range 0.05 to 100 ng mL-1. The sensor also showed excellent selectivity in the presence of various respiratory viruses and proteins in human serum and high stability. Moreover, the Nb2C-SH QD-based SPR aptasensor displayed a vast practical application for the qualitative analysis of N-gene from different samples, including seawater, seafood, and human serum. Thus, this work can provide a deep insight into the construction of the aptasensor for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in complex environments. A novel label-free surface plasmon resonance aptasensor has been constructed to detect sensitively and selectively the N-gene of SARS-CoV-2 by using thiol-modified niobium carbide MXene quantum dots as the scaffold to anchor the N-gene-targeted aptamer.

Keywords: Aptasensor; Detection of N-gene; Nb2C MXene quantum dot; SARS-CoV-2; Surface plasmon resonance biosensor.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

None
A novel label-free surface plasmon resonance aptasensor has been constructed to detect sensitively and selectively the N-gene of SARS-CoV-2 by using thiol-modified niobium carbide MXene quantum dots as the scaffold to anchor the N-gene-targeted aptamer.
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic diagram of a the synthesis of Nb2C-SH QDs and b construction of the Nb2C-SH QD-based SPR aptasensor for detecting N-gene of SARS-CoV-2
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a Low-magnification, b high-magnification, and c high-resolution TEM images (the inset images show the corresponding size distribution curves) of the Nb2C QDs. High-resolution C 1s, Nb 3d, and N 1s XPS spectra of (d1, e1, and f1) Nb2C QDs, (d2, e2, and f2) Nb2C-SH QDs and (d3, e3, and f3) Apt/Nb2C-SH QDs
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
a SPR aptasensor responses of the AptN58/Nb2CQDs/Au with different concentrations of N-gene (0.05, 0.1, 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 ng mL−1). b Relationship between the ΔRU values (ΔRU = RUN-gene - RUN58 aptamer) and N-gene concentration. Inset: Linear relationship between ΔRU and logarithm of Nb2C-SH QDs concentration. c Selectivity of the Nb2C-SH QD-based SPR aptasensor for N-gene detection (1 ng mL−1) in the presence of CPN, flu A, Flu B, P1, IgG, PSA, and BSA (100 ng mL−1)

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