Multilayered Sandwich Structure Sensor: Confinement‐Mediated H <sub>2</sub> O <sub>2</sub> Enrichment Strategy for Ultrasensitive and Long‐term Stable Prostate Cancer Biomarker Detection
Sarcosine (Sar), a critical potential biomarker for prostate cancer (PCa), is primarily detected via enzyme cascade reactions involving sarcosine oxidase (SOx) and peroxidase. Nevertheless, the intermediate product hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>) tends to diffuse to the bulk solution phase without entering subsequent reaction, leading to suboptimal detection sensitivity and compromised analytical performance. To tackle this challenge, a multilayered sandwich nanozyme cascade sensor (designated as Cu-MOF/Rf@BDC) is proposed through a confinement-mediated H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> enrichment strategy. Its innovative architecture spatially restricts the H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> diffusion while maintaining optimal reaction proximity, thereby enhancing the utilization efficiency of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> by local concentration effects. The confined microenvironment ultimately achieves the ultrasensitive Sar detection with a 3.31 nmol L<sup>-1</sup> detection limit (1-2 orders lower than previously reported methods). In clinical urine samples tested for Sar detection, the sensor exhibits strong consistency with commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits, confirming the reliability of its analytical performance. Significantly, the sensor demonstrates a 3.6-fold shorter preparation time and 6.0-12.0-fold longer signal duration compared to ELISA kits. These dual advantages accelerate the detection process and improve efficiency for large-scale clinical screening of PCa biomarkers. Furthermore, the developed sensor exhibits exceptional selectivity and repeatability, underscoring its potential practicality in complex analytical matrices.
Authors
- Xueyan Wei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6656-4832)
- Qingshan Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3925-0344)
- Jionghui Gu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6386-0065)
- Weixuan Wu
- Zhenxia Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2582-7082)
- Zhongfeng Shi
- Zuyi Lu
- Liqin Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7661-5683)
- Zhongxing Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3664-3476)
- Xin Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5147-6768)
Institutions
- Guangxi University (CN)
- Beibu Gulf University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small
- Published
- 2025-09-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202505472
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Nanomaterials in Catalysis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00