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Self-powered cathodic photoelectrochemical aptasensor based on in situ–synthesized CuO-Cu2O nanowire array for detecting prostate-specific antigen

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Abstract

A facile and sensitive self-powered cathodic photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptasensor is reported for the detection of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) based on CuO-Cu2O nanowire array grown on Cu mesh (CuO-Cu2O NWA/CM) as electrode. The mixed narrow band gaps of the CuO-Cu2O heterostructure ensured its wide absorption band, effective electron/hole separation, and high photocatalytic activity in the visible region. In addition, nanowires directly grown on the substrate provided high specific surface area and exposed abundant active sites, thus guaranteeing its high photocatalytic efficiency. Therefore, the self-powered sensor exhibited favorable analytical performance with fast response, wide linear ranges of 0.01 to 5 ng/mL and 5 to 100 ng/mL, an acceptable detection limit of 3 pg/mL, and reasonable selectivity and stability. The proposed CuO-Cu2O NWA/CM can be considered a promising visible light-responsive photoactive material for fabrication of PEC aptasensor with high performance.

a Schematic illustration of construction process of PEC sensing platform based on the CuO-Cu2O composite for PSA detection. b Schematic mechanism of the operating PEC system.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21775089, 51862014, 21665010), the Outstanding Youth Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2017JL010), the Key Research and Development Program of Jining City (2018ZDGH032), the Project of Shandong Province Higher Educational Science and Technology Program (J18KA101), and Taishan scholar of Shandong Province (tsqn201909106).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, 273165, Shandong, China

    Xiaomeng Li, Weisu Kong, Xia Qin & Fengli Qu

  2. Institute of Functional Materials and Agricultural Applied Chemistry, College of Science, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, Jiangxi, China

    Limin Lu

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  1. Xiaomeng Li
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  2. Weisu Kong
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Correspondence to Xia Qin, Fengli Qu or Limin Lu.

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Li, X., Kong, W., Qin, X. et al. Self-powered cathodic photoelectrochemical aptasensor based on in situ–synthesized CuO-Cu2O nanowire array for detecting prostate-specific antigen. Microchim Acta 187, 325 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-020-04277-9

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