Electrochemiluminescence immunosensor based on Cu3(PO4)2 hybrid nanoflowers as a novel luminophore for the sensitive detection of prostate-specific antigen

Copper phosphate hybrid nanoflowers (Cu-3(PO4)(2)HNFs) were demonstrated to produce cathodic ECL emission in the presence of potassium persulfate (K2S2O8) and then used as a carrier due to their large specific surface area. AgNPs modified on Cu-3(PO4)(2)HNFs provided more binding sites for immobilizing secondary antibodies and accelerating the electron transfer rate to enhance the ECL signal. In addition, FONDs-Au was used to capture primary antibodies due to its good biocompatibility and large specific surface area. A sandwich electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor based on copper phosphate hybrid nanoflower/Ag nanoparticle (Cu-3(PO4)(2)HNFs@Ag) composite and Au NPs-functionalized Fe2O3 nanodendrites (FONDs-Au) was constructed to detect prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in real samples. Under optimal conditions, the constructed sandwich ECL immunosensor was sensitive to PSA with a detection limit of 0.037 pg/mL (S/N = 3), a linear detection concentration range of 0.0001-50 ng/mL, and a recovery range of 97.33-102.5%. This immunosensor is expected to provide a method to detect PSA or other biomarkers.