A sensitive electrochemical biosensor based on Pd@PdPtCo mesoporous nanopolyhedras as signal amplifiers for assay of cardiac troponin I

Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) has been widely used in clinical diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Herein, a sensitive electrochemical biosensor for cTnI analysis was designed, in which the simple synthesized Pd@PdPtCo mesoporous nanopolyhedras (MNPs) were utilized as signal amplifiers. The mesoporous polyhedral structure of Pd@PdPtCo MNPs endows them with more specific surface area and more active sites, as well as the synergistic effect between multiple metal elements, all of which increase the electrocatalytic performance of Pd@PdPtCo MNPs in efficiently oxidizing hydroquinone (HQ) to benzoquinone (BQ). Experimental results showed that Pd@PdPtCo MNPs had better performance in oxidation of HQ to BQ compared with their corresponding monometallic and bimetallic nanomaterials. With the aid of the interaction between antigens and antibodies, the peak current of HQ to BQ showed an upward trend with increasing concentration of cTnI, thus the quantitative detection of cTnI could be achieved. Under optimal conditions, the biosensor prepared in this work has a wider linear range (1.0 × 10⁻⁴–200 ng mL⁻¹) and a lower detection limit (0.031 pg mL⁻¹) than other sensors reported in literatures, coupled by good stability and high sensitivity. More importantly, it also performed well in complex serum environment, proving that the electrochemical sensor has a practical application potential in this field.