A Multichannel Fluorescent Array Sensor for Discrimination of Different Types of Drug-Induced Kidney Injury

The differences in urinary proteins could provide a novel opportunity to distinguish the different types of drug-induced kidney injury (DIKI). In this research, Au nanoparticles–polyethyleneimine (AuNPs–PEI) and the three fluorophore-labeled proteins (FLPs) have been constructed as a multichannel fluorescent array sensor via electrostatic interaction, which was used to detect the subtle changes in urine collected from the pathological state of DIKI. Once the urine from different types of DIKI was introduced, the binding equilibrium between AuNPs–PEI and FLPs would be broken due to the competitive binding of urinary protein, and the corresponding fluorescence response pattern would be generated. Depending on the different fluorescence response patterns, the different types of DIKI were successfully identified by principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Accordingly, the strategy was expected to be a powerful technique for evaluating the potential unclear mechanisms of nephrotoxic drugs, which would provide a promising method for screening potential renal-protective drugs.