Development of a europium–salicylic acid based nano-biosensor for early detection of GPC3 in DEN-induced hepatocellular carcinoma

Theodor Bilharz Research Institute

Bibliographic Information

Authors: Hassan Y.M.; El-Tantawi H.; El-Husseini D.M.; Ali I.R.; Attia M.S.

Journal: Biosensors and Bioelectronics

Publisher: Elsevier Ltd

Publication Date: March 2026

Volume / Issue: Volume 295

Article No.: 118281

ISSN: 9565663

DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2025.118281

Scopus: View on Scopus

PubMed: 41380232

Document Type: Article

Access: All Open Access; Hybrid Gold Open Access

Authors and Affiliations

Hassan Y.M., Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Abbassia, Cairo, 11566, Egypt; El-Tantawi H., Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Abbassia, Cairo, 11566, Egypt; El-Husseini D.M., Animal Health Research Institute Nanotechnology research center, Egypt; Ali I.R., Department of Immunology and Treatment Evaluation, Theodore Bilharz Research Institute, Egypt; Attia M.S., Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Abbassia, Cairo, 11566, Egypt

Abstract

The early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is hindered by a lack of highly sensitive and specific biomarkers. This study addresses this challenge by developing a novel optical biosensor targeting Glypican-3 (GPC3), a promising biomarker for HCC. A luminescent europium–salicylic acid (Eu–SA) complex was synthesized via a sol–gel method and embedded in an epoxy–methyl cellulose thin film to create a low-cost sensing platform. Molecular docking confirmed the superior binding affinity of the Eu–SA complex to the GPC3 antibody interface over samarium or terbium analogues. The fabricated biosensor exhibited characteristic excitation and emission peaks at 395 nm and 618 nm, respectively. After antibody functionalization, it demonstrated a linear response to GPC3 from 0.01 to 0.167 ng/mL (Y = −0.968 + 45.36x, r = 0.97), with a detection limit of 0.159 ng/mL. The biosensor was biologically validated using serum from diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced HCC mice, showing excellent diagnostic performance with a 0.93 correlation to ELISA and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.96. These results establish the Eu–SA thin-film biosensor as a sensitive, selective, and affordable tool for GPC3 detection, holding strong potential for point-of-care early HCC diagnostics. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.

Keywords

DEN mouse model; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Nano-optical biosensor; Thin film; Diagnosis; Europium; Indium Compounds; Mammals; Sols; Thin Films; Animals; Biomarkers, Tumor; Biosensing Techniques; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Diethylnitrosamine; Early Detection of Cancer; Glypicans; Humans; Limit of Detection; Liver Neoplasms; Mice; Molecular Docking Simulation; Binding energy; Biomarkers; Biosensors; Chemical detection; Europium compounds; Nanosensors; glypican 3; salicylic acid; samarium; terbium; glypican; GPC3 protein, human; tumor marker; Diethylnitrosamine mouse model; Early diagnosis; Glypican-3; Mice models; Nanobiosensor; Optical bio-sensors; Thin-films; adult; animal experiment; animal model; Article; blood sampling; cancer diagnosis; controlled study; early cancer diagnosis; enzyme linked immunosorbent assay; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; human; immobilization; liver cell carcinoma; male; molecular docking; mouse; nonhuman; protein expression; protein structure; scanning electron microscopy; transmission electron microscopy; ultraviolet spectrophotometry; animal; blood; chemistry; genetic procedures; isolation and purification; liver tumor; procedures

Citation Information

Scopus Citations: 7

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