In Situ Growth of Au NPs on Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Quantum Dots Decorated Graphene Composites for the Construction of an Electrochemical Immunosensor and Its Application in CEA Detection

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is an important tumor biomarker for the early clinical diagnosis of various cancers, and, therefore, the accurate and sensitive quantitative determination of CEA is of vital significance. In this study, we demonstrated the in situ growth of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) on...

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Main Authors: Zhengzheng Yan, Lujie Wang, Fei Yan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Molecules
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/6/1347
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author Zhengzheng Yan
Lujie Wang
Fei Yan
author_facet Zhengzheng Yan
Lujie Wang
Fei Yan
author_sort Zhengzheng Yan
collection DOAJ
description Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is an important tumor biomarker for the early clinical diagnosis of various cancers, and, therefore, the accurate and sensitive quantitative determination of CEA is of vital significance. In this study, we demonstrated the in situ growth of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) on nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites by using simple drop-coating and electrochemical deposition methods. N-GQDs@rGO can be formed through the π–π stacking interaction and possesses a high specific surface area and many functional groups, providing lots of anchor sites (amino moieties in NGQDs) for the in situ electrochemical growth of AuNPs without the addition of reductants and protective agents. Such AuNPs/N-GQDs@rGO ternary nanocomposites combine the characteristics of three nanomaterials, showing a large surface area, excellent solubility, good conductivity, catalytic activity, a simple fabrication process, and notable stability, which are further used to construct a label-free electrochemical immunosensor for the determination of CEA. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the AuNPs/N-GQDs@rGO-based electrochemical immunosensor achieves a broad linear response, ranging from 1 pg/mL to 0.5 μg/mL and a low detection limit of 0.13 pg/mL. Moreover, the AuNPs/N-GQDs@rGO-based electrochemical immunosensor shows exceptional selectivity, anti-interference, and anti-fouling capabilities for the direct analysis of CEA amounts in fetal bovine serum samples, showing vast potential in the clinical screening of cancer.
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spelling doaj-art-700e726fc74f4c4fb57182e7df59c6212025-08-20T03:43:34ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492025-03-01306134710.3390/molecules30061347In Situ Growth of Au NPs on Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Quantum Dots Decorated Graphene Composites for the Construction of an Electrochemical Immunosensor and Its Application in CEA DetectionZhengzheng Yan0Lujie Wang1Fei Yan2Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030032, ChinaKey Laboratory of Surface & Interface Science of Polymer Materials of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, ChinaKey Laboratory of Surface & Interface Science of Polymer Materials of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, ChinaCarcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is an important tumor biomarker for the early clinical diagnosis of various cancers, and, therefore, the accurate and sensitive quantitative determination of CEA is of vital significance. In this study, we demonstrated the in situ growth of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) on nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites by using simple drop-coating and electrochemical deposition methods. N-GQDs@rGO can be formed through the π–π stacking interaction and possesses a high specific surface area and many functional groups, providing lots of anchor sites (amino moieties in NGQDs) for the in situ electrochemical growth of AuNPs without the addition of reductants and protective agents. Such AuNPs/N-GQDs@rGO ternary nanocomposites combine the characteristics of three nanomaterials, showing a large surface area, excellent solubility, good conductivity, catalytic activity, a simple fabrication process, and notable stability, which are further used to construct a label-free electrochemical immunosensor for the determination of CEA. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the AuNPs/N-GQDs@rGO-based electrochemical immunosensor achieves a broad linear response, ranging from 1 pg/mL to 0.5 μg/mL and a low detection limit of 0.13 pg/mL. Moreover, the AuNPs/N-GQDs@rGO-based electrochemical immunosensor shows exceptional selectivity, anti-interference, and anti-fouling capabilities for the direct analysis of CEA amounts in fetal bovine serum samples, showing vast potential in the clinical screening of cancer.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/6/1347Au nanoparticlesnitrogen-doped graphene quantum dotsreduced graphene oxideelectrochemical immunosensorcarcinoembryonic antigen
spellingShingle Zhengzheng Yan
Lujie Wang
Fei Yan
In Situ Growth of Au NPs on Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Quantum Dots Decorated Graphene Composites for the Construction of an Electrochemical Immunosensor and Its Application in CEA Detection
Molecules
Au nanoparticles
nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots
reduced graphene oxide
electrochemical immunosensor
carcinoembryonic antigen
title In Situ Growth of Au NPs on Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Quantum Dots Decorated Graphene Composites for the Construction of an Electrochemical Immunosensor and Its Application in CEA Detection
title_full In Situ Growth of Au NPs on Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Quantum Dots Decorated Graphene Composites for the Construction of an Electrochemical Immunosensor and Its Application in CEA Detection
title_fullStr In Situ Growth of Au NPs on Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Quantum Dots Decorated Graphene Composites for the Construction of an Electrochemical Immunosensor and Its Application in CEA Detection
title_full_unstemmed In Situ Growth of Au NPs on Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Quantum Dots Decorated Graphene Composites for the Construction of an Electrochemical Immunosensor and Its Application in CEA Detection
title_short In Situ Growth of Au NPs on Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Quantum Dots Decorated Graphene Composites for the Construction of an Electrochemical Immunosensor and Its Application in CEA Detection
title_sort in situ growth of au nps on nitrogen doped graphene quantum dots decorated graphene composites for the construction of an electrochemical immunosensor and its application in cea detection
topic Au nanoparticles
nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots
reduced graphene oxide
electrochemical immunosensor
carcinoembryonic antigen
url https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/6/1347
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AT feiyan insitugrowthofaunpsonnitrogendopedgraphenequantumdotsdecoratedgraphenecompositesfortheconstructionofanelectrochemicalimmunosensoranditsapplicationinceadetection