Real-Time Tau Protein Detection by Sandwich-Based Piezoelectric Biosensing: Exploring Tubulin as a Mass Enhancer

Li, Dujuan; Scarano, Simona; Lisi, Samuele; Palladino, Pasquale; Minunni, Maria

doi:10.3390/s18040946

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Erratum published on 22 March 2019, see Sensors 2019, 19(6), 1428.

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Real-Time Tau Protein Detection by Sandwich-Based Piezoelectric Biosensing: Exploring Tubulin as a Mass Enhancer

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College of Life Information Science & Instrument Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, 115 Wenyi Rd, Hangzhou 310000, China

Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3-13, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, Italy

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Sensors 2018, 18(4), 946; https://doi.org/10.3390/s18040946

Received: 12 January 2018 / Revised: 16 March 2018 / Accepted: 19 March 2018 / Published: 22 March 2018

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Label-Free Biosensors)

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Abstract

Human tau protein is one of the most advanced and accepted biomarkers for AD and tauopathies diagnosis in general. In this work, a quartz crystal balance (QCM) immunosensor was developed for the detection of human tau protein in buffer and artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF), through both direct and sandwich assays. Starting from a conventional immuno-based sandwich strategy, two monoclonal antibodies recognizing different epitopes of tau protein were used, achieving a detection limit for the direct assay in nanomolar range both in HBES-EP and aCSF. Afterward, for exploring alternative specific receptors as secondary recognition elements for tau protein biosensing, we tested tubulin and compared its behavior to a conventional secondary antibody in the sandwich assay. Tau–tubulin binding has shown an extended working range coupled to a signal improvement in comparison with the conventional secondary antibody-based approach, showing a dose–response trend at lower tau concentration than is usually investigated and closer to the physiological levels in the reference matrix for protein tau biomarker. Our results open up new and encouraging perspectives for the use of tubulin as an alternative receptor for tau protein with interesting features due to the possibility of taking advantage of its polymerization and reversible binding to this key hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. View Full-Text

Keywords: tau protein; Alzheimer’s disease; quartz crystal balance (QCM); immunosensor; tubulin; cerebrospinal fluid

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Li, D.; Scarano, S.; Lisi, S.; Palladino, P.; Minunni, M. Real-Time Tau Protein Detection by Sandwich-Based Piezoelectric Biosensing: Exploring Tubulin as a Mass Enhancer. Sensors 2018, 18, 946. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18040946

AMA Style

Li D, Scarano S, Lisi S, Palladino P, Minunni M. Real-Time Tau Protein Detection by Sandwich-Based Piezoelectric Biosensing: Exploring Tubulin as a Mass Enhancer. Sensors. 2018; 18(4):946. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18040946

Chicago/Turabian Style

Li, Dujuan, Simona Scarano, Samuele Lisi, Pasquale Palladino, and Maria Minunni. 2018. "Real-Time Tau Protein Detection by Sandwich-Based Piezoelectric Biosensing: Exploring Tubulin as a Mass Enhancer" Sensors 18, no. 4: 946. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18040946

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Real-Time Tau Protein Detection by Sandwich-Based Piezoelectric Biosensing: Exploring Tubulin as a Mass Enhancer

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