title: Surface plasmon resonance sensor for femtomolar detection of testosterone with water-compatible macroporous molecularly imprinted film.
abstract: A novel water-compatible macroporous molecularly imprinted film (MIF) has been developed for rapid, sensitive, and label-free detection of small molecule testosterone in urine. The MIF was synthesized by photo copolymerization of monomers (methacrylic acid [MAA] and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate [HEMA]), cross-linker (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, EGDMA), and polystyrene nanoparticles (PS NPs) in combination with template testosterone molecules. The PS NPs and template molecules were subsequently removed to form an MIF with macroporous structures and the specific recognition sites of testosterone. Incubation of artificial urine and human urine on the MIF and the non-imprinted film (NIF), respectively, indicated undetectable nonspecific adsorption. Accordingly, the MIF was applied on a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor for the detection of testosterone in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and artificial urine with a limit of detection (LOD) down to 10(-15)g/ml. To the best of our knowledge, the LOD is considered as one of the lowest among the SPR sensors for the detection of small molecules. The control experiments performed with analogue molecules such as progesterone and estradiol demonstrated the good selectivity of this MIF for sensing testosterone. Furthermore, this MIF-based SPR sensor shows high stability and reproducibility over 8months of storage at room temperature, which is more robust than protein-based biosensors.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Qingwen
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Lijing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biomimetic Sensor Science, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637553, Singapore.
authors.forename: Jinling
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Yamin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biomimetic Sensor Science, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637553, Singapore. Electronic address: yiwang@ntu.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China. Electronic address: txwei@bit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Tianxin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biomimetic Sensor Science, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637553, Singapore.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liedberg
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D006801:Humans; D008689:Methacrylates / Q000737:chemistry; D054802:Molecular Imprinting; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance; D013739:Testosterone / Q000032:analysis* / Q000652:urine; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D008689:Methacrylates; D011137:Polystyrenes; D014867:Water; C008384:methacrylic acid; D013739:Testosterone; C005044:hydroxyethyl methacrylate; C004919:ethylene dimethacrylate
keywords: Macroporous film; Molecularly imprinted film (MIF); Sensor; Surface plasmon resonance (SPR); Testosterone; Water-compatible