Systematic Optimization of Universal Real-Time Hypersensitive Fast Detection Method for HBsAg in Serum Based on SERS.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, with HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) being a crucial marker in the clinical detection of HBV. Due to the significant harm and ease of transmission associated with HBV, HBsAg testing has become an essential part of preoperative assessments, particularly for emergency surgeries where healthcare professionals face exposure risks. Therefore, a timely and accurate detection method for HBsAg is urgently needed. In this study, a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensor with a sandwich structure was developed for HBsAg detection. Leveraging the ultrasensitive and rapid detection capabilities of SERS, this sensor enables quick detection results, significantly reducing waiting times. By systematically optimizing critical factors in the detection process, such as the composition and concentration of the incubation solution as well as the modification conditions and amount of probe particles, the sensitivity of the SERS immune assay system was improved. Ultimately, the sensor achieved a sensitivity of 0.00576 IU/mL within 12 min, surpassing the clinical requirement of 0.05 IU/mL by an order of magnitude. In clinical serum assay validation, the issue of false positives was effectively addressed by adding a blocker. The final sensor demonstrated 100% specificity and sensitivity at the threshold of 0.05 IU/mL. Therefore, this study not only designed an ultrasensitive SERS sensor for detecting HBsAg in actual clinical serum samples but also provided theoretical support for similar systems, filling the knowledge gap in existing literature.

Molecular engineering of Schiff-base linked covalent polymers with diverse topologies by gas-solid interface reaction.

The design and construction of molecular nanostructures with tunable topological structures are great challenges in molecular nanotechnology. Herein, we demonstrate the molecular engineering of Schiff-base bond connected molecular nanostructures. Building module construction has been adopted to modulate the symmetry of resulted one dimensional (1D) and two dimensional (2D) polymers. Specifically, we have designed and constructed 1D linear and zigzag polymers, 2D hexagonal and chessboard molecular nanostructures by varying the number of reactive sites and geometry and symmetry of precursors. It is demonstrated that high-quality conjugated polymers can be fabricated by using gas-solid interface reaction. The on-demanding synthesis of polymeric architectures with diverse topologies paves the way to fabricate molecular miniature devices with various desired functionalities.