A Simple and Sensitive Biosensor Based on Silver Enhancement of Aptamer-Gold Nanoparticle Aggregation

We have found that dispersed gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have higher silver enhancement than that of aggregated AuNPs. Based on this observation we propose a general methodology of assay, the silver enhancement of aptamer-gold nanoparticle aggregation (SEAGNA). The assay is simple, inexpensive, fast, and sensitive. Adenosine aptamer is used to demonstrate the essence of this method. A tiny amount of sample is enough, and 0.1 pmol (0.1 mu M in 1 mu L) of adenosine can be detected with naked eyes. The sensitivity of most existing AuNPs-based colorimetric biosensors can be easily improved by applying our silver enhancement.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000267235900014&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Chemistry, AnalyticalElectrochemistrySCI(E)17ARTICLE111316-13202