Photoelectrochemical assay for histone acetyltransferase based on polydopamine sensitized layered WS2

Histone acetylation is crucial transcription-activating modification, which is achieved by histone acetyltransferase using acetyl coenzyme A as acetyl donor. As by-product, the concentration of coenzyme A (CoA) is related to histone acetyltransferase. Based on it, a newly and sensitively photoelectrochemical method was designed for histone acetyltransferase detection, where WS 2 nanosheets were employed as photoactive material, polydopamine (PDA) was used as solid-state electron donor, SMCC was adopted as crosslinker for capture CoA through the covalent reaction between SMCC and –SH of CoA, and streptavidin was used as signal inhibition unit. This novel PEC strategy presented a superior linear relationship with the range of 0.1–200 nM. The detection limit was 47 pM (S/N = 3). This assay was further applied to investigate the effect of heavy metal and anacardic acid on the effect of histone acetyltransferase activity, provided a platform for the screening of histone acetyltransferase inhibitor, and assessing the applicability of this method in ecotoxicological effect evaluation.