Chemiluminescent determination of L-cysteine with the lucigenin-carbon dot system

Development of chemiluminescent systems and devices for analytical applications

Chemiluminescence (CL) refers to the light-emitting phenomenon resulting from chemical reactions. Due to its simplicity in terms of instrumentation and high sensitivity, CL plays a critical role in analytical chemistry and has developed rapidly in recent years. In this review, we discuss the efforts made by our group in the field of CL. This includes exploring new luminophores that function under neutral pH conditions, developing oxidant- and reactive oxygen species-based coreactants (e.g. artemisinin and thiourea dioxide) for luminol and lucigenin CL, utilizing nanomaterial-based CL signal amplification and employing innovative ultrasound devices for CL and their analytical applications. We discussed the CL amplification mechanisms of these systems in detail. Finally, we summarize the challenges and prospects for the future development of CL.

Sensitive SERS assay for L-cysteine based on functionalized silver nanoparticles

L-cysteine, an indispensable amino acid present in natural proteins, plays pivotal roles in various biological processes. Consequently, precise and selective monitoring of its concentrations is imperative. Herein, we propose a Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) sensor for detecting L-cysteine based on the anti-aggregation of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) and histidine (His) functionalized silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). The presence of Hg2+ ions can induce the aggregation of Ag NPs@His@4-MBA due to the unique nanostructures of Ag NPs@His@4-MBA, resulting in a robust SERS intensity of 4-MBA. However, in the presence of L-cysteine, the stronger affinity between L-cysteine and Hg2+ reduces the concentration of free Hg2+, causing the dispersion of the aggregated functionalized Ag NPs and the reduction of the SERS signal intensity of 4-MBA. The developed SERS platform demonstrates excellent performance with a low detection limit of 5 nM (S/N = 3) and linear detection capabilities within the range of 0.01-100 μM for L-cysteine. Additionally, the method was successfully employed for the determination of L-cysteine in spiked serum samples, yielding recoveries ranging from 95.0 % to 108.1 % with relative standard deviations of less than 3.3 %. This study not only presents a novel approach for fabricating highly sensitive and specific SERS biosensors for biomolecule detection but also offers a significant strategy for the development and construction of SERS substrates using anti-aggregation design.

An efficient chemiluminescent probe based on Ni-doped CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocrystals embedded in mesoporous SiO2 for sensitive assay of L-cysteine

This study presents an efficient chemiluminescence (CL) probe based on perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) for detection of L-cysteine (L-Cys). It consists of nickel-doped CsPbBr3 NCs embedded in the mesoporous SiO2 matrix as CL reagent and cerium (IV) as an oxidant in aqueous environment. The probe was designed for the highly selective determination of L-Cys based on its remarkable enhancing effect on the CL intensity. The colloidal nanocomposite of nickel-doped CsPbBr3 NCs@SiO2 with photoluminescence quantum yield of 58% was fabricated by ligand-assisted re-precipitation method and characterized by using UV-Vis absorption, FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The sensor was utilized to determine L-Cys in the linear concentration range of 20-300 nM with a detection limit of 12.8 nM. Direct chemical oxidation of Ni-doped CsPbBr3 NCs@SiO2 by Ce(IV) was the single cause of the formation of the excited-state NCs and subsequent production of CL. The developed probe provides outstanding selectivity towards L-Cys over structurally related compounds. Accurate determination of L-Cys in human serum samples was achieved without interference, and the results were confirmed by HPLC method.

Plasmon-Stimulated Colorimetry Biosensor Array for the Identification of Multiple Metabolites

Rationally designing highly catalytic and stable nanozymes for metabolite monitoring is of great importance because of their huge potential in early disease diagnosis. Herein, a novel nanozyme based on hierarchically structured CuS/ZnS with a highly efficient peroxidase (POD)-mimic capability was developed and synthesized for multiple metabolite determination and recognition via the plasmon-stimulated biosensor array strategy. The designed nanozyme can simultaneously harvest plasmon triggered hot electron-hole pairs and generate photothermal properties, leading to a sharply boosted POD-mimic capability under 808 nm laser irradiation. Interestingly, because of the interaction diversity of the metabolite with POD-like nanomaterials, the unique inhibitory effect of metabolites on the POD-mimic activity could be the signal response as the differentiation. Thus, utilizing TMB as a typical chromogenic substrate in the addition of H2O2, the designed colorimetric biosensor array can produce diverse fingerprints for the three vital metabolisms (cysteine (Cys), ascorbic acid (AA), and glutathione (GSH)), which can be precisely identified by principal component analysis (PCA). Notably, a distinct fingerprint of a single metabolite with different levels and metabolite mixtures is also achieved with a detection limit of 1 μM. Most importantly, cell lysis could be effectively discriminated by the biosensor assay, implying its great potential in clinical diagnosis.

Synergistically Enhanced Oxidase-like Property of Core-Shell MOF Nanozymes by Decorating Au and Ag/AgCl Nanoparticles for l-Cysteine Colorimetric Sensing

Monitoring l-cysteine (l-Cys) is of importance for human health and food safety. Herein, we designed a novel strategy for bimetallic Au and Ag/AgCl anchoring on Ni-doped ZIF-67 to form core-shell nanocubes (Ni-ZIF-67/AuAg/AgCl) using the galvanic replacement processes. The unique properties of ZIF-67 nanocubes were conducive to generating strong synergistic catalytic effects with Au and Ag/AgCl, particularly when Ni-ZIF-67/AuAg/AgCl composites were employed as oxidase mimics for catalyzing the oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB). The Ni-ZIF-67/AuAg/AgCl composites displayed strong affinity toward TMB, displaying a lower Michaelis constant Km value of 0.25 mM and a higher maximum initial rate Vmax of 9 × 10-8 M s-1. By virtue of the nanozyme, the colorimetric sensor was constructed for l-Cys detection with a relatively low detection limit of 0.051 μM. The superior catalytic performance of the as-prepared Ni-ZIF-67/AuAg/AgCl composites can be ascribed to the core-shell structure, large specific surface area, and strong synergistic catalytic effects, which are beneficial for exposing more active sites and enhancing the conductivity to further boost their catalytic activity.

Much Stronger Chemiluminescence of 9-Mesityl-10-methylacridinium Ion than Lucigenin at Neutral Conditions for Co2+ Detection

9-Mesityl-10-methylacridinium ion (Acr+-Mes) is a donor-acceptor molecule with a much longer lifetime and a higher energy electron transfer excited state than natural photosynthetic reaction centers. Unlike lucigenin with a coplanar geometry, Acr+-Mes has an orthogonal geometry. There is no π conjugation between Acr+ and Mes. Due to its special electron donor-acceptor structure, it does not rely on strong alkalinity to generate an electron transfer state like lucigenin, which makes it possible to achieve chemiluminescence (CL) under weakly alkaline or neutral conditions. In this study, we report Acr+-Mes CL for the first time. Acr+-Mes generates about 400 times stronger CL intensity than lucigenin under neutral conditions (pH = 7) using KHSO5 as the coreactant. Moreover, Co2+ can enhance Acr+-Mes/KHSO5 CL remarkably. Acr+-Mes/KHSO5 CL enables Co2+ detection with a linear range of 0.5-500 nM and a limit of detection of 28 pM (S/N = 3). This method was tested for the detection of Co2+ in lake water, and the standard recovery rate of 96.8-107% was achieved. This study provides a new way to develop efficient CL systems in neutral solutions.

Ultrasmall Pt Nanozymes Immobilized on Spherical Polyelectrolyte Brushes with Robust Peroxidase-like Activity for Highly Sensitive Detection of Cysteine

Distinct platinum (Pt) nanozymes as peroxidase mimics have received extensive interest owing to their outstanding catalytic activity, high environmental tolerance, lower consumption, and great potential in replacing natural enzymes. However, easy agglomeration of Pt nanoparticles (Pt NPs) resulting from the high surface free energy significantly decrease their peroxidase-like activity. Herein, spherical polyelectrolyte brush (SPB)-stabilized ultrasmall Pt NPs (SPB@Pt NPs) were prepared by a novel synthetic strategy where the SPB not only performed as a nanoreactor for the synthesis of ultrasmall Pt NPs but also greatly stabilized Pt NPs against aggregation. The well-defined SPB@Pt NP nanozymes exhibited outstanding peroxidase-like activity for the catalytic oxidation of colorless 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to blue oxidized TMB and were then used to establish a colorimetric sensor for rapid detection of cysteine, giving a limit of detection of 0.11 μM. Moreover, the colorimetric detection system was demonstrated with outstanding performance in sensitive and selective detection of cysteine in the presence of several interference molecules. From these results, SPB@Pt NPs have been regarded as promising peroxidase mimics for a large number of applications such as in biosensing, biomedicine, the food industry, and environmental chemistry.

Aggregation-Induced Emission Effect within Peroxyoxalate-Loaded Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Efficient Harvest of Chemiluminescence Energy in Aqueous Solutions

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecules that can avoid the aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect and break the concentration limit have been widely used for biosensing. Similar to fluorescence dyes, AIE molecules can be chemiexcited simply by a peroxyoxalate-based chemiluminescence (CL) reaction, but the hydrolysis of peroxyoxalate is often a problem in an aqueous solution. Herein, we report an AIE effect within peroxyoxalate-loaded silica nanoparticles (PMSNs) for an efficient harvest of CL energy as well as alleviation of bis(2,4,5-trichloro-6-carbopentoxyphenyl) oxalate (CPPO) hydrolysis. Peroxyoxalate (i.e., CPPO) and AIE molecules (i.e., 1,2-benzothiazol-2-triphenylamino acrylonitrile, BTPA) were loaded together within the mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) to synthesize the BTPA-PMSN nanocomposite. The BTPA-PMSNs not only allowed CPPO to be dispersed well in an aqueous solution but also avoided the hydrolysis of CPPO. Meanwhile, the proximity between BTPA and CPPO molecules in the mesopores of MSNs facilitated the BTPA aggregate to harvest the energy from CL intermediates. Hence, the CL system of BTPA-PMSNs can work efficiently in aqueous solutions at a physiological pH. The CL quantum yield of the BTPA-PMSN system was measured to be 9.91 × 10^-5, about 20 000-fold higher than that obtained in the rhodamine B (RhB, a typical ACQ dye)-PMSN system. Using BTPA-PMSNs for H₂O₂ sensing, a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 5 nM can be achieved, 1000-fold lower than that achieved in the RhB-PMSNs system. Due to the feasibility of working at a physiological pH, this CL system is also quite suitable for the detection of oxidase substrates such as glucose and cholesterol. This BTPA-PMSN CL system with the merits of high CL quantum yield at a physiological pH is appealing for biosensing.

Colorimetric determination of cysteine based on Au@Pt nanoparticles as oxidase mimetics with enhanced selectivity

A H₂O₂-free colorimetric protocol based on urchin-like Au@Pt nanoparticles (Au@Pt NPs) has been developed for the sensitive and selective determination of cysteine (Cys). We verified the intrinsic oxidase-like activity of the Au@Pt NPs. They can act as artificial mimic oxidases to catalyse the oxidization of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) with the assistance of dissolved oxygen, avoiding the use of H₂O₂ in the colorimetric determination of Cys. In addition, the discrimination of Cys from the other two biothiol analogues, homocysteine and glutathione, can be easily realized through a simple ageing process. HNO₃ is added to this colorimetric system to terminate the reaction by oxidizing ox-TMB (oxidized form of TMB) to diphenoquinone (DPQ), thus generating a characteristic absorption peak of DPQ at 450 nm. By recording the absorbance at 450 nm, interference from the aggregated Au@Pt NPs (absorption peak at 670 nm) when 650 nm (the characteristic absorption peak of ox-TMB) is used as the absorption wavelength can be eliminated. We investigated this H₂O₂-free colorimetric protocol and obtained high sensitivity, with a detection limit of 1.5 nM and relatively high selectivity. The analytical performance for real samples was further explored. The Au@Pt NP-based H₂O₂-free colorimetric protocol is of great significance for the sensitive and selective determination of Cys in practical samples in different scenarios.

You Don't Learn That in School: An Updated Practical Guide to Carbon Quantum Dots

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have started to emerge as candidates for application in cell imaging, biosensing, and targeted drug delivery, amongst other research fields, due to their unique properties. Those applications are possible as the CQDs exhibit tunable fluorescence, biocompatibility, and a versatile surface. This review aims to summarize the recent development in the field of CQDs research, namely the latest synthesis progress concerning materials/methods, surface modifications, characterization methods, and purification techniques. Furthermore, this work will systematically explore the several applications CQDs have been subjected to, such as bioimaging, fluorescence sensing, and cancer/gene therapy. Finally, we will briefly discuss in the concluding section the present and future challenges, as well as future perspectives and views regarding the emerging paradigm that is the CQDs research field.

Colorimetric determination of L-cysteine in milk samples with surface functionalized silver nanoparticles

A simple, selective and sensitive method is proposed for determination of cysteine (Cys) in milk samples using ionic liquid functionalized silver nanoparticles (ILs-AgNPs) as a colorimetric probe. ILs-AgNPs was synthesized by simple reduction method using silver nitrate as a precursor and sodium borohydride as a reducing agent and functionalized with ILs to prevent particles from self-aggregation. The sensing mechanism has been dependent on the color change of ILs-AgNPs and red shift of absorption band from 395 nm to 560 nm in the visible region, which is found proportional to the concentration of target analyte in sample. ILs-AgNPs was characterized in absence and presence of Cys by UV-vis, Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The linear range was acquired in the range of 0-100 ng mL^-1, with correlation coefficient (R²) of 0.996 and limit of detection (LOD) of 4.0 nM. The binding mechanism and interactions between Cys and ILs-AgNPs was confirmed by calculating the binding constant and thermodynamic parameters such as enthalpy (∆H), entropy (∆S) and Gibb's free energy (∆G). The use of ILs-AgNPs exhibited high colorimetric selectivity for Cys in milk samples in presence of other amino acids. This proposed strategy possessed the advantages of simplicity and selectivity, hence is applied for analysis of Cys in milk samples.

Selective and Sensitive ZnO Quantum Dots Based Fluorescent Biosensor for Detection of Cysteine

In the present article, a novel and effective ZnO quantum dots-based fluorescent probe has been developed for the detection of cysteine in different solutions. Firstly, melamine-based fluorescent pre-probe was successfully synthesized via condensation reaction and, then ZnO quantum dots (QDs) were homogenously dispersed into this solution. This fluorescent probe was used for the detection of cysteine in different solutions such as bovine serum albumin and tap water. ZnO QDs were characterized using XRD, nano-particle size analyzer, and FE-SEM techniques. The size of the ZnO QDs was calculated as 28.03±9.86 nm, and 31.95±10.02 nm from Scherrer's equation and nano-particle size analyzer, respectively. The developed fluorescent probe was exhibited a highly selective and sensitive response to the detection of cysteine. Also, the proposed fluorescent probe has a larger Stokes shift value (236 nm). The limit of detection and linear range of ZnO QDs-based fluorescent biosensor were found as 0.642 μM and 0.1-600 μM, respectively. ZnO quantum dot-based fluorescent sensor for L-cysteine.

Iron and nitrogen co-doped graphene quantum dots as highly active peroxidases for the sensitive detection of l-cysteine

New Fe,N co-doped GQDs are easily synthesized and have high peroxidase-mimicking activity for the selective and sensitive colorimetric detection of l-cysteine.

Nanomaterial-enhanced chemiluminescence reactions and their applications

Chemiluminescence (CL) analysis is a trace analytical method that possesses advantages including high sensitivity, wide linear range, easy operation, and simple instruments. With the development of nanotechnology, many nanomaterial (NM)-enhanced CL systems have been established in recent years and applied for the CL detection of metal ions, anions, small molecules, tumor markers, sequence-specific DNA, and RNA. This review summarizes the research progress of the nanomaterial-enhanced CL systems the past five years. These CL reactions include luminol, peroxyoxalate, lucigenin, ultraweak CL reactions, and so on. The CL mechanisms of the nanomaterial-enhanced CL systems are discussed in the first section. Nanomaterials take part in the CL reactions as the catalyst, CL emitter, energy acceptor, and reductant. Their applications are summarized in the second section. Finally, the challenges and opportunities are discussed.

Development of luminol-fluorescamine-PVP chemiluminescence system and its application to sensitive tyrosinase determination

Fluorescamine is a popular fluorescent probe. We report for the first time that luminol chemiluminescence (CL) can be enhanced by fluorescamine in the presence of PVP. The CL intensity of luminol-fluorescamine-PVP is about 26 times stronger than that of luminol. Both the removal of oxygen and the addition of superoxide dismutase (SOD) decrease CL intensity, thiourea and NaN₃ have little effect on CL intensities, indicating that O₂^•- is critical for CL. Interestingly, o-quinone generated from phenol by tyrosinase obviously inhibited the CL intensity. Inspired by such quenching effect on the luminol-fluorescamine-PVP CL system, a sensitive CL sensing for the determination of tyrosinase activity was developed. The method can detect tyrosinase in the range of 0.07-1.5 μg mL^-1 (0.19-4.02 U mL^-1) with the detection limit of 0.035 μg mL^-1 (0.094 U mL^-1). Moreover, this method exhibits satisfied recoveries for the spiked human serum samples.