Open Access

ARTICLE

Synthesis of MoS₂/Fe₃O₄ composites for the detection of liver cancer biomarker alpha-fetoprotein

C. B. Cui^a,b, G. C. Yang^b, Z. Zhang^a,, X. J. Wang^c,

a Innovation Research Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, 250355, China
b School of Biology and Brewing Engineering, Taishan University, Taian 271000, China
c School of Pharmacy, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, China

* Corresponding Author:

Chalcogenide Letters 2025, 22(6), 507-520. https://doi.org/10.15251/CL.2025.226.507

Received 28 February 2025; Accepted 03 June 2025;

Abstract

This research introduces an innovative aptasensor for detecting alpha-fetoprotein with exceptional sensitivity and specificity, employing a novel MoS₂/Fe₃O₄ composite fabricated through an advanced in-situ growth methodology. The composite exhibited a hierarchical flower-like structure with uniformly distributed Fe3O4 nanoparticles, confirmed by SEM, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy. The MoS₂/Fe₃O₄ composite demonstrated a 66% increase in surface area (7.16 m^²/g) compared to pristine MoS2, enhancing aptamer immobilization and electron transfer efficiency. Electrochemical characterization revealed a significant increase in interfacial resistance upon AFP binding, with a detection limit of 0.3 pg/mL and a dual linear range of 0.001–0.1 ng/mL and 0.1–100 ng/mL. The aptasensor showed excellent specificity, negligible interference from proteins such as CEA and PSA, and high reproducibility (RSD < 4.2%). Stability tests indicated 95% signal retention after 7 days and 87% after 30 days. Real sample analysis in spiked human serum achieved recovery rates of 96.8–102.3%. These findings underscore the potential of the MoS2/Fe3O4-based aptasensor as a cost-effective, reliable tool for early liver cancer diagnosis, with significant improvements in sensitivity and practicality over conventional methods.

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Keywords

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