Label-free electrochemical aptasensor for thrombin detection with platinum nanoparticles and blocking reagent horseradish peroxidase as enhancers

A sensitive label-free electrochemical aptasensor was successfully fabricated for thrombin detection with platinum nanoparticles (Pt) and blocking reagent horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as enhancers. A Nafion (R)-graphene-coated electrode was first modified with an electrochemical probe of methylene blue (MB) through electrostatic interaction. Then Pt was electrodeposited onto an electrode for immobilization of the thrombin aptamer (TBA). Subsequently, HRP served as blocking reagent instead of bovine serum albumin (BSA). With the synergistic effect between Pt and HRP, the prepared aptasensor showed a superior catalytic efficiency toward H(2)O(2) in the presence of MB. After the combination of target thrombin on electrode surface, the TBA-thrombin complex made a barrier for etectrocatalysis of Pt and HRP and inhibited the electrotransfer, resulting in a greater decrease in MB signals. As a result, the proposed approach showed a high sensitivity and a much wider linearity to thrombin in the range from 0.005 to 50 nM with a detection limit of 1 pM.