Water-dispersed fluorescent silicon nanodots as probes for fluorometric determination of picric acid via energy transfer

Amino-rich silicon quantum dots as efficient activator with intrinsic chemiluminescence for the detection of peroxydisulfate

The specific detection of peroxydisulfate (S2O82-, PDS) is significant and challenging due to the rapid development of PDS-related technologies and their widespread application in multiple fields. However, traditional analytical methods are mainly based on their strong oxidizing properties, making it difficult to simultaneously achieve specific identification and high sensitivity for PDS detection in complex water environments. Here, we purposely prepared amino-rich SiQDs (N-SiQDs) as an effective catalyst and introduced H2O2 acts as a co-reactant for PDS activation and determination with strong intrinsic chemiluminescence (CL) emission. High yield of reactive active oxygen (mainly O2˙- and ˙OH) were generated during CL process, which trigger electron-hole annihilation between the N-SiQDs˙+ and N-SiQDs˙- accounted for extraordinary CL emission. On this basis, a new CL assay for PDS detection was fabricated with broad linear range of 5 × 10-7M-5 × 10-5 M and low detection limit (3.2 × 10-7 M). Due to the absence of SO4˙- involvement during CL emission, the sensing platform is sensitive enough, satisfactory selectivity and does not respond to transition-metal ions and inorganic anions that have interferences in the PDS CL sensors reported before. This work not only deepens insight into the mechanisms of nanomaterials assisted PDS activation but also provides a new perspective on the modified metal-free QDs CL probe for chemical species detection.

Orange-Red-Emitting Carbon Dots for Bilirubin Detection and Its Antibacterial Activity Against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus

In this study, orange-red-emitting carbon dots (OR-CDs) were prepared from p-phenylenediamine (p-PDA) and urea as starting precursors through the hydrothermal method. The OR-CDs exhibited bright orange-red fluorescence at 618 nm when excited at 480 nm. The obtained OR-CDs exhibited stable photophysical properties under different physiological conditions. The unique photophysical property of OR-CDs were then utilized for fluorometric determination of bilirubin. The fluorometric assay revealed that the fluorescence intensity of OR-CDs is gradually quenched upon the addition of bilirubin (1-20 μM). The mechanism of fluorescence quenching was evaluated by steady-state fluorescence analysis and time-correlated single photon counting measurements. The OR-CDs showed good selectivity and sensitivity toward bilirubin over other common interfering biomolecules. The present fluorometric assay showed a linear response toward bilirubin between 1 and 10 μM with a limit of detection of 4.80 nM. Further, a fluorescence test cotton swab-based detection probe has been successfully developed by incorporating OR-CDs for the point-of-care detection of bilirubin in biofluids. Furthermore, a light-emitting diode light that emits orange-red light was prepared by embedding the OR-CDs within the poly(vinyl alcohol) polymer matrix. Moreover, the antibacterial activity of OR-CDs was tested against Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. The antibacterial efficacy of OR-CDs was demonstrated by various mechanisms, such as reactive oxygen species generation, destruction of cell structure, chemical binding to membrane, and surface wrapping. Interestingly, the survival assay against L929 fibroblast cells exhibits favorable biocompatibility and bioimaging.

Recent Advances in Silicon Quantum Dot-Based Fluorescent Biosensors

With the development of nanotechnology, fluorescent silicon nanomaterials have been synthesized and applied in various areas. Among them, silicon quantum dots (SiQDs) are a new class of zero-dimensional nanomaterials with outstanding optical properties, benign biocompatibility, and ultra-small size. In recent years, SiQDs have been gradually utilized for constructing high-performance fluorescent sensors for chemical or biological analytes. Herein, we focus on reviewing recent advances in SiQD-based fluorescent biosensors from a broad perspective and discussing possible future trends. First, the representative progress for synthesizing water-soluble SiQDs in the past decade is systematically summarized. Then, the latest achievement of the design and fabrication of SiQD-based fluorescent biosensors is introduced, with a particular focus on analyte-induced photoluminescence (fluorescence) changes, hybrids of SiQDs with other materials or molecules, and biological ligand-modification methods. Finally, the current challenges and prospects of this field are highlighted.

Recent trends in nanomaterial-based signal amplification in electrochemical aptasensors

Ultrasensitive biosensors have become a necessity in the world of scientific research, and several signal enhancement strategies have been employed to attain exceptionally low detection limits. Nanotechnology turns out to be a strong contender for signal amplification, as they can be employed as platform modifiers, catalysts, carriers or labels. Here, we have described the most recent advancements in the utilization of nanomaterials as signal amplification components in aptamer-based electrochemical biosensors. We have briefly reviewed the methods that utilized nanomaterials, namely gold and carbon, as well as nanocomposites such as: graphene, carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, and metal-organic frameworks.

Sensitive detection of picric acid in an aqueous solution using fluorescent nonconjugated polymer dots as fluorescent probes

Nonconjugated polymer dots (NPDs) were successfully used as fluorescent probes to selectively and sensitively detect picric acid (PA). The NPDs were prepared from polyethylenimine and 1,4-phthalaldehyde under mild conditions and had excitation and emission maxima of 351 and 474 nm, respectively. Fluorescence of the NPDs was efficiently quenched by PA through the inner filter effect because of the overlapping PA absorption band and NPD excitation spectrum. The NPDs allowed PA to be determined with a high degree of sensitivity. The linear range was 0-140μM and the detection limit was 0.5μM. The work involved developing a novel method for synthesizing NPDs and a promising platform for determining PA in environmental media.

Recent Developments in the Field of Explosive Trace Detection

Explosive trace detection (ETD) technologies play a vital role in maintaining national security. ETD remains an active research area with many analytical techniques in operational use. This review details the latest advances in animal olfactory, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), and Raman and colorimetric detection methods. Developments in optical, biological, electrochemical, mass, and thermal sensors are also covered in addition to the use of nanomaterials technology. Commercially available systems are presented as examples of current detection capabilities and as benchmarks for improvement. Attention is also drawn to recent collaborative projects involving government, academia, and industry to highlight the emergence of multimodal screening approaches and applications. The objective of the review is to provide a comprehensive overview of ETD by highlighting challenges in ETD and providing an understanding of the principles, advantages, and limitations of each technology and relating this to current systems.

Promoted off-on recognition of H2O2 based on the fluorescence of silicon quantum dots assembled two-dimensional PEG-MnO2 nanosheets hybrid nanoprobe

An "off-on" assay system for H2O2 determination was developed based on assembling ultra-bright fluorescent silicon quantum dots (SiQDs) and PEG-MnO2 nanosheets. Among them, SiQDs acted as fluorometric reporter, which can effectively eliminate the interference of plant pigments under excitation of 365 nm. PEG-MnO2 nanosheets played dual function of nanoquencher and H2O2 recognizer. Unlike previous reports, the quenching mechanism of SiQDs by PEG-MnO2 nanosheets is attributed to both the associative effect of inner filter effect and the static quenching effect. Thus, the fluorescence intensity of SiQDs at 445 nm decreased with increasing concentration of PEG-MnO2 nanosheets. After addition of H2O2, PEG-MnO2 nanosheets were reduced to Mn2+, consequently resulting in the recovery of the SiQDs fluorescence. Combined with these properties, an off-on fluorescent method was built for determination of H2O2 in plant leaves with high sensitivity and selectivity. The present method has two linear ranges: from 0.05 to 1 μM with a detection limit of 0.09 μM and from 1 to 80 μM with a detection limit of 4.04 μM. Graphical abstract Schematic representation of the mechanism of SiQD/PEG-MnO2 nanoprobe for determination of H2O2.