A fluorescence aptasensor based on GSH@GQDs and RGO for the detection of Glypican-3

Glypican-3 (GPC3), a heparin sulfate proteoglycan, is a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma. In this paper, a novel fluorescent aptasensor for GPC3 detection is constructed via glutathione@graphene quantum dots-labeled GPC3 aptamer (GSH@GQDs-GPC3_Apt) as a fluorescence probe. First, GSH@GQDs is screened out with higher fluorescence intensity, which emits bright blue fluorescence under ultraviolet light. Then, the fluorescence-labeled GSH@GQDs-GPC3_Apt probe is formed by the combination of amination GPC3_Apt and GSH@GQDs using EDC/NHS coupled reaction. Under hydrogen bond and π-π interaction/stacking, the fluorescence of GSH@GQDs-GPC3_Apt could be quenched by reductive graphene oxide (RGO) with the help of the photoinduced electron transfer and the fluorescence resonance energy transfer mechanism. In the presence of GPC3, the GSH@GQDs-GPC3_Apt specifically recognizes and binds to GPC3, giving rise to the change of secondary structure of GPC3_Apt to form the GPC3/GPC3_Apt-GSH@GQDs complex, which would lead to the disintegration of the GSH@GQDs-GPC3_Apt-RGO compound. Therefore, the energy transfer process is blocked and the fluorescence intensity is restored, enabling a highly sensitive response to GPC3. When the concentration of GPC3 is from 5.0 ng/mL to 150.0 ng/mL, the fluorescence recovery rate is well linearly related to GPC3 concentration with the limit of detection of 2.395 ng/mL (S/N = 3). This strategy shows recoveries from 98.31% to 101.89% in human serum samples and provides simple, fast and cheap analysis of GPC3, which suggests that it has great potential applications in clinical diagnosis for hepatocellular carcinoma.