Background
Incipient screening for cervical cancer is crucial for treatment and improving prognosis. In this work, SERS based aptamer sensor (aptasensor) has been developed and applied to high-sensitivity detection of cervical cancer tumor marker (Carbohydrate antigen19-9 (CA19-9)) with a microporous chip, which was used as surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) analysis platform.
Methods
The aptamer of CA19-9 was immobilized on the gold nanodumbbell as a capture probe and the gold nanobipyramid containing complementary aptamer chains of the signal molecule Cy5 was modified as a signal probe. SERS aptasensor was constructed by combining signal probes and capture probes. It caused signal molecule Cy5 were sandwiched between the signal probes and capture probes; the constructed SERS aptasensor generated a strong SERS signal of Cy5. Based on the strong specificity of the aptamer, the CA19-9 aptamer binds specifically to CA19-9 when CA19-9 exist in the detection environment. The signal probe was released, resulting in a decrease in the SERS signal of the detection environment.
Results
Under the optimal detection conditions, the detection limit of the aptasensor was calculated to be 1.16 × 10−3 U/mL and limit of quantification is equal to 3.87 × 10−3 U/mL. In addition, a standard cervical cancer bearing mouse model was constructed and the SERS spectra of the serum of mice at different stages were measured. The CA19-9 content in the serum of mice at different stages was calculated. Compared with the results of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), relative error (RE) values (2.54 %, −6.093 %, −4.922 %, and 3.04 %) of the CA19-9 concentrations detected by the two methods on the day of 0, 7, 14 and 28.
Conclusion
The proposed SERS aptasensor provides a new and reliable platform for early cervical cancer screening, and its low RE value proves that it will be a promising CA19-9 detection method.