Split-aptamer mediated regenerable temperature-sensitive electrochemical biosensor for the detection of tumour exosomes

Abstract

In this paper, a split-aptamer mediated regenerable temperature-sensitive (SMRT) electrochemical biosensor was constructed for the detection of exosomes. The split-aptamer used in this SMRT biosensor was composed of two fragments, one of which was immobilized on the surface of an electrode via sulfhydryl groups and named split-a and the other was labelled with methylene blue and named split-b. The two fragments could form sandwich structures at the electrode surface via target-induced self-assembly in the presence of target exosomes at 4 °C in PBS, and then realizing the detection of exosomes via voltammetry. In addition, due to the temperature sensitivity of the split-aptamer, the electrode could be regenerated through temperature-induced disassembly of the sandwich structures. Consequently, the SMRT biosensor realized sensitive and specific analysis of target exosomes with a limit of detection of 1.5 × 106 particles/mL and could be quickly and easily regenerated by washing with PBS at 37 °C for 30 s without any additives. This is the first study on the construction of a reproducible electrochemical biosensor using a split-aptamer for the specific detection of tumour exosomes, and may provide an innovative strategy for the economical and efficient design of regenerable electrochemical biosensors.