Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Method for Sensitive Detection of Protein Kinase A Activity Using TiO2/g-C3N4, PAMAM Dendrimer, and Alkaline Phosphatase

A novel photoelectrochemical (PEC) assay is developed for sensitive detection of protein kinase A (PKA) activity based on PKA-catalyzed phosphorylation reaction in solution and signal amplification strategy triggered by PAMAM dendrimer and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). In this strategy, it is noteworthy at this point that PKA phosphorylation was achieved in solution instead of on the surface of the electrode, which has advantages of the good contact in reactants and simple experimental procedure. For immobilizing the phosphorylated peptide (P-peptide) on electrode surface, graphite-like carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) complex is synthesized and characterized, which plays a significant role for TiO2 conjugating phosphate groups and g-C3N4 providing PEC signal. Subsequently, PAMAM dendrimer and ALP can be captured on P-peptide and TiO2/g-C3N4 modified ITO electrode via interaction between the -COOH groups on the surface of PAMAM dendrimer and the -NH2 groups of peptide and ALP, which can lead to the increase of ALP amount on the modified electrode surface assisted with the PAMAM dendrimer. As a result, the amount of ALP catalyzes of L-ascorbic acid 2-phosphate trisodium salt (AAP) to produce electron donor of ascorbic acid (AA), resulting in an increased photocurrent. The proposed detection assay displays high selectivity and low detection limit of 0.048 U/mL (S/N = 3) for PKA activity. This biosensor can also be applied for the evaluation of PKA inhibition and PKA activity assay in cell samples. Therefore, the fabricated PEC biosensor is potentionally well in PKA activity detection and inhibitor screening.