Localized surface plasmon resonance nanosensing of C-reactive protein with poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine)-grafted gold nanoparticles prepared by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization.

Highly sensitive and selective protein nanosensing based on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on which polymerized specific ligands were grafted as an artificial protein recognition layer for the target protein were demonstrated. As a model, optical nanosensing for C-reactive protein (CRP), a known biomarker for chronic inflammation that predicts the risk of arteriosclerosis or heart attacks, was achieved by measuring the shift of LSPR spectra derived from the change of permittivity of poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine)-grafted AuNPs (PMPC-g-AuNPs) upon interacting with CRP, in which the PMPC-g-AuNPs layer were grafted on AuNPs by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). This nanosensing system was effective even for detecting CRP concentrations in a human serum solution diluted to 1% (w/w), at which point a limit of detection was ~50 ng/mL and nonspecific adsorption of other proteins was negligible. The nanosensing system using specific ligand-grafted AuNPs has several strengths, such as low preparation cost, avoiding the need for expensive instruments, no necessary complex pretreatments, and high stability, because it does not contain biobased molecules. We believe this novel synthetic route for protein nanosensors, composed of AuNPs and a polymerized specific ligand utilizing surface-initiated controlled/living radical polymerization, will provide a foundation for the design and synthesis of nanosensors targeting various other biomarker proteins, paving the way for future advances in the field of biosensing.