A gold nanoparticle based colorimetric and fluorescent dual-channel probe for acetylcholinesterase detection and inhibitor screening

Based on the competitive host–guest interaction between p-sulfonatocalix[6]arene (p-SC(6)A) capped AuNPs and Rhodamine B (RhB)/acetylthiocholine, a fluorescent and colorimetric dual channel probe was developed for rapid detection of AChE with high sensitivity and selectivity. The detection limit was estimated to be 0.16 mU mL(−1). Crucially, due to the specific host–guest interaction, the high selectivity of the bioassay permitted the discrimination of AChE from other cations and proteins including biothiols and enzymes. Furthermore, the present method was also successfully applied to determinate AChE levels and screen AChE inhibitors in real cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples, which suggested that our proposed method has great potential to be applied in monitoring the disease progression and drug treatment effects of Alzheimer's disease (AD).