An electrochemical immunosensor based on HFABP for the early detection of drug-induced cardiac toxicity from traditional Chinese medicines

An electrochemical immunosensor was successfully developed for evaluating traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-induced cardiac toxicity by immobilizing heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (HFABP)-specific antibodies on an electrode surface modified with chitosan (CS)-functionalized metal–organic framework ZIF-8 and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Leveraging the excellent biocompatibility of AuNPs, the excellent stability and high surface area of ZIF-8, along with the strong specific recognition capability of HFABP antibodies, the sensor demonstrated superior performance. Under optimized experimental conditions, it achieved an ultra-low detection limit of 7.09 × 10⁻² pg mL⁻¹ for HFABP, maintained excellent linearity in the range 1.57 × 10⁻² ~ 1.60 × 10¹ ng mL⁻¹, and outperformed conventional ELISA methods in sensitivity when applied to TCM-induced cardiac toxicity models. The sensor also demonstrated excellent specificity, reproducibility, and stability. This research provides a sensitive and rapid new method for early warning of TCM-induced cardiac toxicity and contributes technical support and scientific reference for improving diagnostic accuracy in herbal medicine safety assessment.

Graphical Abstract