Quantification of biogenic amines by microchip electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection

Antioxidant Micronutrients and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers

Chronic inflammatory diseases are the major causes of mortality in humans and recent research has improved our understanding of the major impact of lifestyle factors upon inflammatory diseases and conditions. One of the most influential of these is nutrition, which may drive both pro-inflammatory as well as anti-inflammatory cascades at molecular and cellular levels. There are a variety of model systems that may be employed to investigate the impact of micronutrients and macronutrients upon inflammatory pathways, many of which operate through oxidative stress, either at the level of controlling the redox state of the cell and downstream redox-regulated gene transcription factors, and other acting as free radical generating or scavenging agents. This chapter focuses upon biological sample preparation prior to assay and details methods for analyzing certain antioxidant micronutrients and biomarkers of oxidative stress.

Non-enzymatic electrochemical sensing of dopamine from COVID-19 quarantine person

The worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, is not only a great threat to the victim life but it is leaving invisible devastating negative affect on mental health of quarantined individual because of isolation, depression, bereavement, and loss of income. Therefore, the precise monitoring catecholamine neurotransmitters specifically of dopamine (DA) is of great importance to assess the mental health. Thus, herein we have synthesized Co-based zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-67) through solvothermal method for precise monitoring of DA. To facilitate the fast transportation of ions, highly conductive polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene; PEDOT) has been integrated on the surface of ZIF-67 which not only provides the smooth pathway for ions/electrons transportation but also saves the electrode from pulverization. The fabricated ZIF-67/PEDOT electrode shows a significant sensing performance towards DA detection in terms of short diffusion pathways by expositing more active sites, over good linear range (15-240 μM) and a low detection limit of (0.04 μM) even in the coexistence of the potentially interfering molecules. The developed ZIF-67/PEDOT sensor was successfully employed for sensitive and selective monitoring of DA from COVID-19 quarantined person blood, thus suggesting reliability of the developed electrode.

Freshness monitoring of raw fish by detecting biogenic amines using a gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric sensor array

We herein report the quantitative detection of biogenic amines using a gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric chemosensor array for food analysis. The gold nanoparticles are functionalized with carboxylate derivatives, which capture target amines through hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions. The simultaneous discrimination of 10 amine derivatives was achieved by a linear discriminant analysis with a 100% correct classification based on the multi-colorimetric response pattern of structural differences. Furthermore, a real sample analysis for raw fish (i.e., tuna) demonstrated highly accurate determination of histamine concentrations by a support vector machine, the result of which was matched with high-performance liquid chromatography. Most importantly, the chemosensor array succeeded in detecting the time-dependent concentration change of histamine in the raw fish, meaning that the decomposition of the fish could be monitored by the colorimetric changes. Hence, the proposed chemosensor array combined with pattern recognition techniques can be a user-friendly analytical method for food freshness monitoring.

A gold nanoparticle-based chemosensor array functionalized with carboxylate derivatives performed freshness monitoring of amines in a fish sample.

Synthesis of MOF525/PEDOT Composites as Microelectrodes for Electrochemical Sensing of Dopamine

Dopamine (DA) is an important neurotransmitter responsible for the functions and activities of multiple systems in human. Electrochemical detection of DA has the advantages of fast analysis and cost-effectiveness, while a regular electrode probe is restricted to laboratory use because the probe size is too large to be suitable for an in vivo or in vitro analysis. In this study, we have developed porphyrin-based metal organic framework (MOF525) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-based composites to modify microelectrode for DA detection. Two types of PEDOT monomers with different functional groups were investigated in this study. By varying the monomer ratios, electrolyte concentrations, and electropolymerization temperature, it was found that the PEDOT monomer containing carboxylic group facilitated the formation of regular morphology during the electropolymerization process. The uniform morphology of the PEDOT promoted the electron transmission efficiency in the same direction, while the MOF525 provided a large reactive surface area for electrocatalysis of DA. Thus, the MOF525/PEDOT composite improved the sensitivity-to-noise ratio of DA signaling, where the sensitivity reached 11 nA/μM in a good linear range of 4–100 µM. In addition, porphyrin-based MOF could also increase the selectivity to DA against other common clinical interferences, such as ascorbic acid and uric acid. The as-synthesized microelectrode modified with MOF525/PEDOT in this study exhibited great potential in real time analysis.

An ultrasensitive microchip electrophoresis chemiluminescence assay platform for detection of trace biomolecules

An ultrasensitive microchip electrophoresis chemiluminescence (MCE-CL) assay platform based on separation assisted cascade signal amplification was developed for detection of trace biomolecules. In this work, the aptamer was used as a target probe to bind target molecule and triggering cascade signal amplification reaction. The horseradish peroxide labeled DNA (HRP-DNA) was used as signal probe, utilizing nucleic acid hybridization and exonuclease cutting technology realized ultrasensitive detection of biomolecules on the MCE-CL assay platform. Taking gamma interferon (IFN-γ) as a model analyte, the linear range for IFN-γ detection is 8.0 × 10^-15-1.0 × 10^-8 M, the detection limit is 1.6 fM, which is six orders magnitude lower than that of without signal amplification. The proposed method was successfully applied for the quantification of IFN-γ in human plasma samples. It was demonstrated that the MCE-CL assay platform was quick, sensitive, and highly selective. It may serve as a tool for clinical analysis of IFN-γ to assist in the diagnosis of disease.

Aptamer-Based Microchip Electrophoresis Assays for Amplification Detection of Carcinoembryonic Antigen

Microchip electrophoresis (MCE), regarded as a miniaturized version of capillary electrophoresis (CE), has exhibited prominent advantages in terms of low sample consumption, rapid analysis times, easy operation, efficient resolution of compounds, and increased throughput. This technology has led to more research focus on analysis particularly in hospital settings for clinical diagnostics. However, since the channels in microchip are very small, achieving the desired assay sensitivity on a microfluidic platform remains a challenge. Here, we describe aptamer-based MCE assays for amplification detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in human serum.

Determination of Sulfonamide Residues in Food by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis with On-Line Chemiluminescence Detection Based on an Ag(III) Complex

The presence of sulfonamide (SA) residues in foods is largely due to the raising of animals with sulfonamide antibiotics added or polluted feedstuff. In this paper, a sensitive method was developed for the determination of the residues of three sulfonamides in animal-derived food; the SAs include sulfadimidine (SDD), sulfadiazine (SDZ), and sulfathiazole (STZ). The method is based on capillary zone electrophoresis (CE) with online chemiluminescence (CL) detection, using an Ag(III) complex as an oxidant. These SAs have an inhibiting effect on the Ag(III)-luminol CL reaction. The electrophoretic buffer is 12.0 mM sodium borate. Under a set of optimized conditions, the linear ranges for the detections were found to be 10.0-200 µg·mL^-1 for SDD and SDZ, and 2.0-50.0 µg·mL^-1 for STZ. The detection limits were 2.75, 3.14, and 0.65 µg·mL^-1 for SDD, SDZ, and STZ, respectively. Relative standard deviations (RSD) for the peak heights were between 2.1% and 2.8% (n = 7). The proposed method was used in the analysis of the SAs in samples from pork meat, chicken meat, and milk, showing satisfactory detection results. A reaction mechanism was also proposed for the Ag(III)-luminol-SA CL reactions. The method has potential applications for the monitoring of residue levels of the three SAs in food, providing food safety data.

Antioxidant Micronutrients and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers

Chronic inflammatory diseases are the major causes of mortality in humans and recent research has improved our understanding of the major impact of life-style factors upon inflammatory diseases and conditions. One of the most influential of these is nutrition, which may drive both pro-inflammatory as well as anti-inflammatory cascades at molecular and cellular levels. There are a variety of model systems that may be employed to investigate the impact of micronutrients and macronutrients upon inflammatory pathways, many of which operate through oxidative stress, either at the level of controlling the redox state of the cell and downstream redox-regulated gene transcription factors, and other acting as free radical generating or scavenging agents. This chapter focuses upon biological sample preparation prior to assay and details methods for analyzing certain antioxidant micronutrients and biomarkers of oxidative stress.

Aptamer-based microchip electrophoresis assays for amplification detection of carcinoembryonic antigen

BACKGROUND

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as one of the most widely used tumor markers is used in the clinical diagnosis of colorectal, pancreatic, gastric, and cervical carcinomas. We developed an aptamer-based microchip electrophoresis assay technique for assaying CEA in human serum for cancer diagnosis.

METHODS

The magnetic beads (MBs) are employed as carriers of double strand DNA that is formed by an aptamer of the target and a complementary DNA of the aptamer. After the aptamer in the MB-dsDNA conjugate binds with the target, the complementary DNA was released from the MB-dsDNA conjugate. The released complementary DNA hybridizes with a fluorescein amidite (FAM) labeled DNA, and forms a DNA duplex, which triggers the selective cleavage of FAM labeled DNA by nicking endonuclease Nb.BbvCI, and generating a FAM labeled DNA segment. The released complementary DNA hybridizes with another FAM labeled DNA, resulting in a continuous cleavage of FAM labeled DNA, and the generation of large numbers of FAM labeled DNA segments. In MCE laser induced fluorescence detection (LIF), the FAM labeled DNA segment is separated and detected.

RESULTS

The linear range for CEA was 130 pg/ml-8.0 ng/ml with a correlation coefficient of 0.9916 and a detection limit of 68 pg/ml. The CEA concentration in the serum samples from healthy subjects was found to be in the range 1.3 ng/ml to 3.2 ng/ml. The CEA concentration in the samples from cancer patients was found to be >15 ng/ml.

CONCLUSIONS

This method may become a useful tool for rapid analysis of CEA and other tumor markers in biomedical analysis and clinical diagnosis.

Confined chemiluminescence detection of nanomolar levels of H2O2 in a paper–plastic disposable microfluidic device using a smartphone

We report the design and characterization of a disposable light shielded paper–plastic microfluidic device that can detect nanomolar levels of H₂O₂ using a smartphone camera and a light sealed accessory.

Amperometric biosensor for the determination of histamine in fish samples

A bienzymatic biosensor employing diamine oxidase (DOx) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) for the detection of histamine in fish samples has been developed and optimized in this work. These enzymes have been co-immobilized into a polysulfone/carbon nanotubes/ferrocene membrane by means of phase inversion technique onto screen-printed electrodes. The electrochemical measurements have been carried out in phosphate buffer solution at pH 8.0 in batch mode and low applied potential (-50 mV vs. Ag/AgCl, KCl 0.1 M) to minimize the interferences. Developed biosensor exhibits high sensitivity (1.9×10(7) nA(-1)), low limit of detection (1.7×10(-7) M), high storage stability and excellent reproducibility, obtaining a linear interval range from 3×10(-7) to 2×10(-5) M. Finally, applicability of the biosensor to the estimation of histamine content in different fish samples has been assessed; obtaining a good correlation between results obtained with the biosensor and those obtained with the reference method (ELISA) in case of sardines, mackerel and greater weever.

A sensitive gold nanoparticles sensing platform based on resonance energy transfer for chemiluminescence light on detection of biomolecules

In this article, we report a gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) sensing platform based on chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET) for light on detection of biomolecules. In designing such a CRET-based biosensing platform, the aptamer was first covalently labeled with a chemiluminescent reagent, N-(4-aminobutyl)-N-ethylisoluminol (ABEI). The ABEI labeled aptamer was then hybridized with AuNPs functionalized ssDNA which was complementary to the aptamer, obtaining the aptasensor. The CRET between ABEI and AuNPs in the aptasensor led to the CL quenching of ABEI. In the presence of a target analyte, it formed a complex with aptamer, and released ABEI-aptamer from AuNPs surface that resulted in CL recovery of ABEI. To test this design, a thrombin (used as a model analyte) aptasensor was prepared and evaluated. The results indicate that the proposed approach is simple and provided a linear range of 50-550 pM for thrombin detection with a detection limit of 15 pM. This new methodology can be easily extended to assay other biomolecules by simply changing the recognition sequence with the substrate aptamer.

Highly sensitive trivalent copper chelate-luminol chemiluminescence system for capillary electrophoresis detection of epinephrine in the urine of smoker

Epinephrine (EP) is one of the most important neurotransmitters and hormones. Some previous literatures show that there is a close relation between its release and smoking. To compare the levels of EP in urines of smokers and nonsmokers, a sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) system, luminol-diperiodatocuprate (III) (K(5)[Cu(HIO(6))(2)], DPC), has been developed and validated for the determination of EP after CE separation. The DPC-luminol-EP CL reaction showed very intensive emission and fast kinetic characteristics, thus led to a high sensitivity in the flow-through detection mode for capillary electrophoresis. With the peak height as a quantitative parameter, the relative CL intensity was linear with the EP concentration in the range of 2.0-400ng/mL, with a limit of detection of 0.82ng/mL (S/N=3). The reproducibility was assessed by intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSDs) for 11 replicate determinations of EP standard samples at low, medium and high concentrations. The intra- and inter-day RSDs for CL signals were 5.5%-6.6% and 6.1%-7.5%, respectively, and those for migration times were 3.4%-5.8% and 4.3%-6.3%, respectively. The presented method was successfully applied to the determination of EP in EP injection and urine samples of smokers and nonsmokers. The recovery test results for urine samples ranged from 86.5 to 112.0%, which demonstrated the reliability of this method. The results for urine sample detection indicate that the average level of EP in the urines of the smoker group is obviously higher than that in the urines of the nonsmoker group, which may demonstrate that smoking can stimulate the release of EP in human body.

Determination of trace amounts of dopamine by flow-injection analysis coupled with luminol-Ag(III) complex chemiluminescence detection

A novel flow injection analysis-direct chemiluminescence (FI-CL) method has been developed for determination of trace amounts of dopamine (DA) based on the enhancing effect of DA on the CL reaction of luminol with an Ag(III) complex in alkaline solution. Under optimum conditions, CL intensities are proportional to the concentration of DA in the range of 1.0 × 10(-10) to 4.0 × 10(-8)  mol L(-1). The detection limit is 3.0 × 10(-11)  mol L(-1) for DA (3s), with a relative standard deviation (n = 13) of 2.3% for 1.0 × 10(-8)  mol L(-1) DA. This method has also been applied for the determination of DA in commercial pharmaceutical injection samples. On the basis of the CL spectra and the results of the free-radical trapping experiment of this work, a reaction mechanism for this CL reaction is proposed and discussed.

Chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer-based detection for microchip electrophoresis

Since the channels in micro- and nanofluidic devices are extremely small, a sensitive detection is required following microchip electrophoresis (MCE). This work describes a highly sensitive and yet universal detection scheme based on chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET) for MCE. It was found that an efficient CRET occurred between a luminol donor and a CdTe quantum dot (QD) acceptor in the luminol-NaBrO-QD system and that it was sensitively suppressed by the presence of certain organic compounds of biological interest including biogenic amines and thiols, amino acids, organic acids, and steroids. These findings allowed developing sensitive MCE-CL assays for the tested compounds. The proposed MCE-CL methods showed desired analytical figures of merit such as a wide concentration range of linear response. Detection limits obtained were approximately 10(-9) M for biogenic amines including dopamine and epinephrine and approximately 10(-8) M for biogenic thiols (e.g., glutathione and acetylcysteine), organic acids (i.e., ascorbic acid and uric acid), estrogens, and native amino acids. These were 10-1000 times more sensitive than those of previously reported MCE-based methods with chemiluminescence, electrochemical, or laser-induced fluorescence detection for quantifying corresponding compounds. To evaluate the applicability of the present MCE-CL method for analyzing real biological samples, it was used to determine amino acids in individual human red blood cells. Nine amino acids, including Lys, Ser, Ala, Glu, Trp, etc., were detected. The contents ranged from 3 to 31 amol/cell. The assay proved to be simple, quick, reproducible, and very sensitive.

Chemiluminescent immunoassay of thyroxine enhanced by microchip electrophoresis

A homogeneous chemiluminescent immunoassay of thyroxine (T4) enhanced by microchip electrophoresis separation has been developed. The method deployed the competitive immunoreaction of T4 and horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled T4 (HRP-T4) with anti-T4 mouse monoclonal antibody (Ab). HRP-T4 and the HRP-T4-Ab complex were separated and quantified by using microchip electrophoresis (MCE) with chemiluminescence (CL) detection. Highly sensitive CL detection was achieved by means of HPR-catalyzed luminol-H(2)O(2) reaction. Due to the effective MCE separation, the CL analytical signal was less prone to sample matrix interference. Under the selected assay conditions, the MCE separation was accomplished within 60s. The linear range for T4 was 5-250 nM with a detection limit of 2.2 nM (signal/noise ratio=3). The current method was successfully applied for the quantification of T4 in human serum samples. It was demonstrated that the current MCE-CL-enhanced competitive immunoassay was quick, sensitive, and highly selective. It may serve as a tool for clinical analysis of T4 to assist in the diagnosis of thyroid gland functions.

Microchip electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection for assaying ascorbic acid and amino acids in single cells

A method based on microchip electrophoresis (MCE) with chemiluminescence (CL) detection was developed for the determination of ascorbic acid (AA) and amino acids including tryptophan (Trp), glycine (Gly) and alanine (Ala) present in single cells. Cell injection, loading, lysing, electrophoretic separation and CL detection were integrated onto a simple cross microfluidic chip. A single cell was loaded in the cross intersection by electrophoretic means through applying a set of potentials at the reservoirs. The docked cell was lysed rapidly under a direct electric field. The intracellular contents were MCE separated within 130 s. CL detection was based on the enhancing effects of AA and amino acids on the CL reaction of luminol with K(3)[Fe(CN)(6)]. Rat hepatocytes were prepared and analyzed as the test cellular model. The average intracellular contents of AA, Trp, Gly and Ala in single rat hepatocytes were found to be 38.3, 5.15, 3.78 and 3.84 fmol (n=12), respectively.

Quantification of carnosine-related peptides by microchip electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection

A microchip electrophoresis (MCE) method with chemiluminescence (CL) detection was developed for the determination of carnosine-related peptides, including carnosine, homocarnosine, and anserine, in biological samples. A simple integrated MCE-CL system was built to perform the assays. The highly sensitive CL detection was achieved by means of the CL reaction between hydrogen peroxide and N-(4-aminobutyl)-N-ethylisoluminol-tagged peptides in the presence of adenine as a CL enhancer and Co(2+) as a catalyst. Experimental conditions for analyte labeling, MCE separation, and CL detection were studied. MCE separation of the above-mentioned three peptides took less than 120 s. Detection limits (signal/noise ratio [S/N]=3) of 3.0x10(-8), 2.8x10(-8), and 3.4x10(-8) M were obtained for carnosine, anserine, and homocarnosine, respectively. The current MCE-CL method was applied for the determination of carnosine, anserine, and homocarnosine in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and canine plasma. Homocarnosine was detected at the micromolar (microM) level in the CSF samples analyzed, whereas the levels of carnosine and anserine in these samples were below the detection limit of the assay. Interestingly, both carnosine and anserine were detected in the canine plasma samples, whereas homocarnosine was not.