# Signal amplification of a quartz crystal microbalance immunosensor by gold nanoparticles-polyethyleneimine for hepatitis B biomarker detection

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- Authors: Zahra Saffari, Reza Ahangari Cohan, Mina Sepahi, Mahdi Sadeqi, Mehdi Khoobi, Mojtaba Hamidi Fard, Amir Ghavidel, Fahimeh Bagheri Amiri, Mohammad Reza Aghasadeghi, Dariush Norouzian
- Journal: Scientific Reports
- Year: 2023
- Volume: 13
- Pages: 21851
- DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48766-2
- Instrument used: openQCM Sensors

## Abstract

The procedures currently used for hepatitis B (HB) detection are not suitable for screening, clinical diagnosis, and point-of-care testing (POCT). Therefore, we developed and tested a QCM-based immunosensor by surface modification with AuNP-PEIs to amplify the signal and provide an oriented-immobilization surface. The AuNP-PEIs were characterized by ICP-Mass, UV/Vis, DLS, FE-SEM, and ATR-FTIR. After coating AuNP-PEIs on the gold electrode surface, anti-HBsAg antibodies were immobilized using NHS/EDC chemistry based on response surface methodology (RSM) optimization. The efficiency of the immunosensor was assessed by human sera and data were compared to gold-standard ELISA using receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) analysis. FE-SEM, AFM, EDS, and EDS mapping confirmed AuNP-PEIs are homogeneously distributed on the surface with a high density and purity. After antibody immobilization, the immunosensor exhibited good recognition of HBsAg with a calibration curve of ∆F = − 6.910e-7x + 10(R2 = 0.9905), a LOD of 1.49 ng/mL, and a LOQ of 4.52 ng/mL. The immunosensor yielded reliable and accurate results with a specificity of 100% (95% CI 47.8–100.0) and sensitivity of 100% (95% CI 96.2–100.0). In conclusion, the fabricated immunosensor has the potential as an analytic tool with high sensitivity and specificity. However, further investigations are needed to convert it to a tiny lab-on-chip for HB diagnosis in clinical samples.

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