Rapid and Label-Free Analysis of Antigen–Antibody Dynamic Binding of Tumor Markers Using Piezoelectric Quartz Crystal Biosensor

Quantitative biomacromolecular diagnosis is rapidly developing in molecular oncology. In this study, we developed a continuous flow immunoassay device based on a piezoelectric (PZ) quartz crystal biosensor fabricated with whole-electrode occupation for the quantitative molecular diagnosis of tumor markers such as alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). Only one face of the crystal was in contact with the serum sample during the assays. First, the characteristics of AFP and anti-AFP binding kinetics, such as the optimal time for immune response, the average antigen binding rate, the kinetic constants and the optimal standard curve, were investigated. The overall immunoreaction time was only 12 min, the average antigen binding rate of AFP was 45.9 ng/min, the concentration range of AFP detection was 18.8–1100 ng/mL and the association rate constant ([Formula: see text]), dissociation rate constant ([Formula: see text]) and equilibrium dissociation constant (K(D)) were [Formula: see text] , [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] , respectively. This sensing system was further validated by detecting AFP values from clinical serum samples, which were obtained from pregnant women, liver and lung cancer patients and those undergoing liver cancer screening. No cross-reactivity with lung cancer markers were found, and the detection results were in good agreement with the radioimmunoassay (RIA) results, with a relative deviation of no more than 3.7% and correlation coefficient r of 0.9998. Therefore, the developed immunoassay device has the potential to be used in large-scale screening for cancers, as well as in novel high-affinity binding drug development.