A “signal-on” chemiluminescence biosensor for thrombin detection based on DNA functionalized magnetic sodium alginate hydrogel and metalloporphyrinic metal-organic framework nanosheets

A “signal-on” chemiluminescence biosensor was established for detecting thrombin. The thrombin aptamer1-functionalized magnetic sodium alginate (Malg-Apt1) hydrogel was synthesized by physical interaction between sodium alginate and Ca2+, and it was used in the biosensor for separating and enriching thrombin. Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) was used to chelate with Ca2+ to dissolve the hydrogel and release thrombin. A metalloporphyrinic metal-organic framework nanosheet, named as Cu-TCPP(Co) MOFs, was prepared as signal amplification strategy. Cu-TCPP(Co) MOFs/Au-ssDNA (ssDNA: single-strand DNA) was synthesized for controllable further amplification of chemiluminescent signal. The thrombin aptamer2-functionalized magnetic carbon nanotubes (MCNTs-Apt2) were used as a matrix, and Cu-TCPP(Co) MOFs/Au-ssDNA was adsorbed on the MCNTs by the complementary pairing of the partial bases between ssDNA and Apt2. Compared with ssDNA, Apt2 has a stronger interaction with thrombin. Therefore, thrombin can trigger the release of Cu-TCPP(Co) MOFs/Au-ssDNA to achieve signal amplification. Under the optimal conditions, the biosensor could detect thrombin as low as 2.178 × 10−13 mol/L with the range from 8.934 × 10−13 to 5.956 × 10−10 mol/L and exhibited excellent selectively. Moreover, the “signal-on” chemiluminescence biosensor showed potential application for the detection of thrombin in body fluids.