Abstract: The nanogold reaction between HAuCl₄ and citrate is very slow, and the catalyst graphene oxide nanoribbon (GONR) enhanced the nanoreaction greatly to produce gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that exhibited strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption (Abs) at 550 nm and resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) at 550 nm. Upon addition of the peptide of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), the peptide could adsorb on the GONR surface, which inhibited the catalysis. When hCG was added, peptides were separated from the GONR surface due to the formation of stable peptide–hCG complex, which led to the activation of GONR catalytic effect. With the increase in hCG concentration, the RRS and Abs signal enhanced linearly. The enhanced RRS value showed a good linear relationship with hCG concentration in the range of 0.2–20 ng/mL, with a detection limit of 70 pg/mL. Accordingly, two new GONR catalytic RRS/Abs methods were established for detecting hCG in serum samples.
Keywords: nanocatalysis, graphene oxide nanoribbon, peptide regulation, hCG, RRS