Aptamer-Functionalized Fractal Nanoplasmonics-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Metabolite Detection

Abstract: Accurate profiling of metabolites in biofluids provides a feasible approach to disease diagnosis and therapeutic evaluation in clinics. However, current material-based analytical platforms for in vitro metabolite detection often requires tedious sample pretreatment. To address this issue, herein, we report an aptamer-functionalized fractal gold nanoflower (Apt-AuNF)-based sensing platform for metabolite analysis. A series of fractal AuNFs with tunable nanoshell structures was synthesized using DNA-engineered strategy, and optimized Apt-AuNFs were demonstrated to enable efficient trap of target analytes with ∼5-fold enhanced enrichment, thus achieving selective analysis of metabolites in complex biofluids without requirement of pre-enrichment and purification. We applied Apt-AuNF-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry for disease diagnosis, identifying diabetic patients through daily monitoring and glucose quantification in serum. This work provides a guideline to design materials for high-performance metabolic analysis and precise disease diagnosis.