Amplification Strategy of Silver Nanoclusters with a Satellite-Nanostructure for Substrate-Free Assay of Alkaline Phosphatase by ICP-MS

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) plays critical roles in signal transmission and cell growth/apoptosis. Its abnormal level in serum/cell is tightly related to diseases, thus, serum and cellular ALP detection is of great significance for disease diagnosis. Herein, a novel approach for ALP assay based on a satellite-nanostructure is developed by conjugating lanthanide upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) with silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) through DNA bridging. UCNPs serve as the cores to conjugate with DNA fragments, followed by assembly of AgNCs as the satellites on UCNPs surface through the AgNCs-cytosine affinity, to produce the satellite-nanostructure of UCNPs@DNA-AgNCs. The presence of ALP converts phosphate groups into hydroxyl groups at DNA helix, weakening the coordination of DNA with UCNPs. As a result, the satellite AgNC labeling on DNA fragments strips off the UCNP surface. Silver is quantified by measuring isotope 107Ag with ICP-MS, which further derives the content of ALP by correlation to the number of AgNCs. A linear calibration range is obtained in 0.005–120 U/L with a detection limit of 1.8 mU/L. The distinct advantage of this strategy, on one hand, is the substrate-free feature that eliminates the intermediate process of substrate reaction, where the substrate activity decrease and its instability may significantly deteriorate the sensitivity. On the other hand, ALP triggers the production of a large number of AgNCs resulting in substantial amplification on ICP-MS signal to give a favorable sensitivity. This is the first attempt for ALP detection by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.