Reaction analysis on Yb3+ and DNA based on quantum dots: The design of a fluorescent reversible off–on mode

Quenched or alive quantum dots: The leading roles of ligand adsorption and photoinduced protonation

HYPOTHESIS

The fluorescence emission of water-soluble CdTe quantum dots (QDs) capped with mercaptocarboxylic acids (MCAs) is known to be pH-dependent. However, this behaviour is quite different from a study to another, so that literature suffers from a lack of coherence. Here we assume that the QD fluorescence efficiency is actually driven by the acid-base equilibrium of MCA thiol groups, and that light-excited QDs open a non-radiative relaxation path through photoinduced protonation.

EXPERIMENTS

We address this issue by examining colloidal CdTe QDs with (time-resolved) fluorescence spectroscopy under various conditions of acidity and light excitation.

FINDINGS

It appears that the emission of QDs is quenched below a critical pH value of 6.87, and that light excitation power strengthens this quenching. We thus demonstrate the existence of an additional photochemical process and developed a mathematical modeling accounting for all our experimental results. With only three parameters, it is possible to accurately predict the fluorescence decay of QDs over time, at any pH. Further, we also related the critical pH value of 6.87 to QD surface properties, explaining why observations may differ from a study to another and making the literature much more coherent.

Enzyme-catalyzed Michael addition for the synthesis of warfarin and its determination via fluorescence quenching of l-tryptophan

A sensitive fluorescence sensor for warfarin was proposed via quenching the fluorescence of l-tryptophan due to the interaction between warfarin and l-tryptophan. Warfarin, as one of the most effective anticoagulants, was designed and synthesized via lipase from porcine pancreas (PPL) as a biocatalyst to catalyze the Michael addition of 4-hydroxycoumarin to α, β-unsaturated enones in organic medium in the presence of water. Furthermore, the spectrofluorometry was used to detect the concentration of warfarin with a linear range and detection limit (3σ/k) of 0.04-12.0μmolL^-1 (R²=0.994) and 0.01μmolL^-1, respectively. Herein, this was the first application of bio-catalytic synthesis and fluorescence for the determination of warfarin. The proposed method was applied to determine warfarin of the drug in tablets with satisfactory results.

Novel fluorescent CdTe quantum dot-thymine conjugate-synthesis, properties and possible application

Novel, highly fluorescent cadmium telluride quantum dots conjugated with thymine and stabilized with thioglycolic acid were obtained and characterized. Successful formation of the conjugate was confirmed by elemental analysis, and UV-vis, fluorescence and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies. Crystal structure and composition of the conjugates were characterized with xray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The size of the conjugates was 4-6 nm as demonstrated using atomic force microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging. The plasmon resonance fluorescence band at 540 nm on excitation at 351 nm was observed for these nanoparticles. The intensity of this band increased with the increase in the amount of conjugated thymine with no shift in its position. Based on the fluorescence measurements it was found that the CdTe-thymine conjugate interacted efficiently and selectively not only with adenine, a nucleobase complementary to thymine, but also with adenine-containing modified nucleosides, i.e., 5'-deoxy-5'-(methylthio)adenosine and 2'-O-methyladenosine, the urinary tumor markers which allow monitoring of the disease progression. To the best of our knowledge, as yet, there have been no studies presented in literature on that type of the interaction with CdTe-thymine conjugates. Therefore, the system presented can be considered as a working component of a selective adenine/adenosine biosensor with potential application in cancer diagnosis.

Dithizone-etched CdTe nanoparticles-based fluorescence sensor for the off–on detection of cadmium ion in aqueous media

In the present work, a new fluorescence probe based on dithizone-etched CdTe nanoparticles was designed for the sensitive and selective detection of cadmium ion in environmental samplesviaa reversible off–on fluorescence mode.