A dual-quenched ECL immunosensor for ultrasensitive detection of retinol binding protein 4 based on luminol@AuPt/ZIF-67 and MnO2@CNTs

Background Retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) has been regarded as an important serological biomarker for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Hence, the construction of a highly sensitive detection method for RBP4 is the key to early prevention and multidisciplinary intervention of T2DM. In this work, a dual-quenched electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor has been fabricated for ultrasensitive detection of RBP4 by combining zeolitic imidazolate framework-67/AuPt-supported luminol (luminol@AuPt/ZIF-67) with MnO2 nanosheets-grown on carbon nanotubes (MnO2@CNTs). Results AuPt/ZIF-67 hybrids with high-efficiency peroxidase-like activity could provide multipoint binding sites for luminol and antibodies and significantly boost the amplified initial signal of the ECL immunosensor. Upon glutathione/H2O2 coreactants system, MnO2@CNTs composites could quench the initial signal by inhibiting mimic peroxidase activity of luminol@AuPt/ZIF-67. Moreover, the absorption spectrum of the MnO2@CNTs composites completely overlaps with the emission spectrum of luminol, which can further reduce initial signal by ECL resonance energy transfer (ECL-RET). Conclusions Benefiting from the above-mentioned properties, the designed immunoassay sensitivity exhibited excellent sensitivity and relative stability for RBP4 detection range from 0.0001 to 100 ng mL-1 with a low detection limit of 43 fg mL-1. Therefore, our ECL immunosensor provides an alternative assaying strategy for early diagnosis of T2DM.