Arterial hypertension (HTN) is a world health concern presenting difficulties for its early detection. It leads to cardiovascular and kidney complications that increase morbidity in adults. Overexpression in the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) in membrane platelets can be related with the presence of HTN and thus can be used as a biomarker to detect this medical condition. Here, we propose a method for HTN diagnosis based on gold nanoparticles (GNPs) conjugated to an antibody against the ENaC present on platelets. These functionalized GNPs were analyzed by Zeta potential, dynamic light scattering, electron microscopy, and other spectroscopic techniques. To verify that the GNPs and α-ENaC antibodies formed conjugates (GNPs-antiENaC) that maintained their specificity to the target, we carried out an indirect immunofluorescence detection assay of GNPs-antiENaC bound to a secondary antibody labeled with a fluorophore. Our results show that the presence of GNPs increase the fluorescence intensity in platelets treated with GNPs-antiENaC conjugates. It is also observed a clear tendency of the fluorescence signal in platelets treated with the conjugates that could be used for discrimination between normotensive and hypertensive samples. The proposed assay can be implemented as a very sensitive routine test to diagnose HTN.

动脉高压（HTN）是世界卫生问题，对其早期发现提出了困难。它导致心血管和肾脏并发症，增加成年人的发病率。膜血小板中上皮钠通道（ENaC）的过度表达可能与HTN的存在有关，因此可以用作检测这种疾病的生物标记。在这里，我们提出了一种基于金纳米颗粒（GNP）的HTN诊断方法，该纳米颗粒与针对血小板上存在的ENaC的抗体缀合。这些功能化的GNPs通过Zeta电位，动态光散射，电子显微镜和其他光谱技术进行了分析。为了验证GNP和α-ENaC抗体是否形成了可维持其对靶标特异性的缀合物（GNPs-antiENaC），我们进行了结合有荧光团标记的二抗的GNPs-antiENaC的间接免疫荧光检测试验。我们的结果表明，GNP的存在增加了用GNP-antiENaC偶联物处理的血小板的荧光强度。还观察到用缀合物处理的血小板中的荧光信号有明显的趋势，该缀合物可用于区分血压正常和高血压样品。所提出的测定法可以实现为诊断HTN的非常敏感的常规测试。还观察到用缀合物处理的血小板中的荧光信号有明显的趋势，该缀合物可用于区分血压正常和高血压样品。所提出的测定法可以实现为诊断HTN的非常敏感的常规测试。还观察到用缀合物处理的血小板中的荧光信号有明显的趋势，该缀合物可用于区分血压正常和高血压样品。所提出的测定法可以实现为诊断HTN的非常敏感的常规测试。