Biocompatible electrochemical sensor based on platinum-nickel alloy nanoparticles for in situ monitoring of hydrogen sulfide in breast cancer cells

Panda, A. K., Keerthi, M., Sakthivel, R., Dhawan, U. , Liu, X. and Chung, R.-J. (2022) Biocompatible electrochemical sensor based on platinum-nickel alloy nanoparticles for in situ monitoring of hydrogen sulfide in breast cancer cells. Nanomaterials, 12(2), 258. (doi: 10.3390/nano12020258) (PMID:35055275) (PMCID:PMC8781777)

Abstract

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), an endogenous gasotransmitter, is produced in mammalian systems and is closely associated with pathological and physiological functions. Nevertheless, the complete conversion of H2S is still unpredictable owing to the limited number of sensors for accurate and quantitative detection of H2S in biological samples. In this study, we constructed a disposable electrochemical sensor based on PtNi alloy nanoparticles (PtNi NPs) for sensitive and specific in situ monitoring of H2S released by human breast cancer cells. PtNi alloy NPs with an average size of 5.6 nm were prepared by a simple hydrothermal approach. The conversion of different forms of sulfides (e.g., H2S, HS−, and S2−) under various physiological conditions hindered the direct detection of H2S in live cells. PtNi NPs catalyze the electrochemical oxidation of H2S in a neutral phosphate buffer (PB, pH 7.0). The PtNi-based sensing platform demonstrated a linear detection range of 0.013−1031 µM and the limit of detection was 0.004 µM (S/N = 3). Moreover, the PtNi sensor exhibited a sensitivity of 0.323 μA μM−1 cm−2. In addition, the stability, repeatability, reproducibility, and anti-interference ability of the PtNi sensor exhibited satisfactory results. The PtNi sensor was able to successfully quantify H2S in pond water, urine, and saliva samples. Finally, the biocompatible PtNi electrode was effectively employed for the real-time quantification of H2S released from breast cancer cells and mouse fibroblasts.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The authors are grateful for the financial support by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan (MOST 106-2221-E-027-034; MOST 109-2222-E-027-004), and the National Taipei University of Technology–Shenzhen University Joint Research Program (NTUT-SZU-108-05 (2019005); NTUTSZU-109-02 (2020009); NTUT-SZU-110-09 (2021009)).
• Keywords: Hydrogen sulfide, endogenous gasotransmitter, PtNi alloy, live cells, electrochemical sensor.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Dhawan, Dr Udesh

Creator Roles

Dhawan, U.: Conceptualization, Writing – review and editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition

• Authors: Panda, A. K., Keerthi, M., Sakthivel, R., Dhawan, U., Liu, X., and Chung, R.-J.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Biomedical Engineering
• Journal Name: Nanomaterials
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2079-4991
• ISSN (Online): 2079-4991
• Published Online: 14 January 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Nanomaterials 12(2): 258
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License