ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Biosensors and Biomolecular Electronics
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1623332
Nanoenzymatic SERS bifunctional detection platform based on recognition competition strategy for ultrasensitive detection of diabetic retinopathy-related biomarkers
Provisionally accepted
- 1Institute of Translational Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- 2Ophthalmology, The Affiliated Yixing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Yangzhou University, Wuxi 214200, P. R. China., Institute of Translational Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- 3Department of Endocrinology, The Affiliated Yixing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Yangzhou University, Wuxi 214200, P. R. China, Institute of Translational Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- 4Department of Pathology, The Affiliated Yixing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Yangzhou University, Wuxi 214200, P. R. China, Institute of Translational Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
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Early detection and intervention in diabetic retinopathy (DR) are key to its prevention and treatment. In this study, we propose a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) bifunctional detection platform based on nanoenzymes catalyzing the tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) reaction, which innovatively introduces an aptamer recognition competition strategy and achieves an ultrasensitive detection of DR associated biomarker (VEGF). The platform employs Au@Pd nanorods (Au@Pd NRs) modified with single-stranded DNA1 (ssDNA1) as nanoenzymatic probes. Arrays of Au trioctahedra (Au TOHs) with surface-modified double-stranded structures, including aptamer strands and single-stranded DNA2 (ssDNA2), were used as capture substrates.When the target protein is present in the solution to be tested, the aptamer specifically recognizes the target protein and detaches from the surface of the capture substrate, exposing ssDNA2 and being recognized and bound by ssDNA1, allowing a large number of nanoenzymatic probes to be bound to the capture substrate, and the assay platform thus possesses excellent POD activity and SERS performance, being able to catalyze the generation of TMB with a strong SERS signal oxTMB. The platform demonstrated high detection performance, completing the assay within 14 min, with a low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.11 pg/mL. It maintained robust clinical performance even in complex serum samples, and the results were consistent with ELISA. This work offers a framework for constructing nanoenzyme-SERS bifunctional detection systems and introduces a new approach for biomarker detection.
Keywords: Nanoenzymes, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, recognition competition strategy, Diabetic Retinopathy, biomarker
Received: 05 May 2025; Accepted: 10 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zeng, Zong, Dai, Pan, Cao and Lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xiaowei Cao, Institute of Translational Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
Changhua Lu, Ophthalmology, The Affiliated Yixing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Yangzhou University, Wuxi 214200, P. R. China., Institute of Translational Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
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