Electrochemical Assay of the Alpha Fetoprotein-L3 Isoform Ratio to Improve the Diagnostic Accuracy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is now the major malignant disease with high morbidity and mortality, which seriously endangers human lives and health. Alpha fetoprotein (AFP) assay is a commonly used serological biomarker for clinical diagnosis of HCC, but it lacks specificity. Analysis of its isoform AFP-L3, especially the AFP-L3 ratio in total AFP (AFP-L3%), can significantly improve the specificity for HCC identification. Herein, an electrochemical approach has been first proposed for simple, accurate, and fast determination of AFP-L3% in clinical samples. On the basis of two independent electrochemical signals generated from the synthesized nanoparticles, 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (MPA)-functionalized copper nanoparticles (MPA-CuNPs) and the Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA)-functionalized silver nanoparticles (LCA-AgNPs), simultaneous quantification of the AFP-L3 and total AFP in serum sample has been achieved, thus achieving directly the electrochemical assay of AFP-L3%. To be noted, both the assay time and the assay procedure have been significantly compressed when compared to that of available techniques in clinical use. Therefore, with the integration of electrochemical techniques, this new approach for AFP-L3% analysis would be promising for the accurate diagnosis of HCC.