Luminol chemiluminescence induced by silver nanoparticles in the presence of nucleophiles and Cu2+

Fermi Level Equilibration at the Metal-Molecule Interface in Plasmonic Systems

We highlight a new metal-molecule charge transfer process by tuning the Fermi energy of plasmonic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in situ. The strong adsorption of halide ions upshifts the Fermi level of AgNPs by up to ∼0.3 eV in the order Cl^- < Br^- < I^-, favoring the spontaneous charge transfer to aligned molecular acceptor orbitals until charge neutrality across the interface is achieved. By carefully quantifying, experimentally and theoretically, the Fermi level upshift, we show for the first time that this effect is comparable in energy to different plasmonic effects such as the plasmoelectric effect or hot-carriers production. Moreover, by monitoring in situ the adsorption dynamic of halide ions in different AgNP-molecule systems, we show for the first time that the catalytic role of halide ions in plasmonic nanostructures depends on the surface affinity of halide ions compared to that of the target molecule.

Recent applications of quantum dots in optical and electrochemical aptasensing detection of Lysozyme

Lysozyme (Lyz) is a naturally occurring enzyme that operates against Gram-positive bacteria and leads to cell death. This antimicrobial enzyme forms the part of the innate defense system of nearly all animals and exists in their somatic discharges such as milk, tears, saliva and urine. Increased Lyz level in serum is an important indication of several severe diseases and so, precise diagnosis of Lyz is an urgent need in biosensing assays. Up to know, various traditional and modern techniques have been introduced for Lyz determination. Although the traditional methods suffer from some significant limitations such as time-consuming, arduous, biochemical screening, bacterial colony isolation, selective enrichment and requiring sophisticated instrumentation or isotope labeling, some new modern approaches like aptamer-based biosensors (aptasensors) and quantum dot (QD) nanomaterials are the main goal in Lyz detection. Electrochemical and optical sensors have been highlighted because of their adaptability and capability to decrease the drawbacks of common methods. Using an aptamer-based biosensor, sensor selectivity is enhanced due to the specific recognition of the analyte. Thereby, in this review article, the recent advances and achievements in electrochemical and optical aptasensing detection of Lyz based on different QD nanomaterials and detection methods have been discussed in detail.

Comparison of two methods for selegiline determination: A flow-injection chemiluminescence method using cadmium sulfide quantum dots and corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry

Two analytical approaches including chemiluminescence (CL) and corona discharge ionization ion mobility spectrometry (CD-IMS) were developed for sensitive determination of selegiline (SG). We found that the CL intensity of the KMnO4-Na2S2O3 CL system was significantly enhanced in the presence of L-cysteine capped CdS quantum dots (QDs). A possible CL mechanism for this CL reaction is proposed. In the presence of SG, the enhanced CL system was inhibited. Based on this inhibition, a simple and sensitive flow-injection CL method was proposed for the determination of SG. Under optimum experimental conditions, the decreased CL intensity was proportional to SG concentration in the range of 0.01 to 30.0 mg L(-1). The detection limit (3σ) was 0.004 mg L(-1). Also, SG was determined using CD-IMS, and under optimum conditions of CD-IMS, calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.15 to 42.0 mg L(-1), with a detection limit (3σ) of 0.03 mg L(-1). The precision of the two methods was calculated by analyzing samples containing 5.0 mg L(-1) of SG (n=11). The relative standard deviations (RSDs%) of the flow-injection CL and CD-IMS methods are 2.17% and 3.83%, respectively. The proposed CL system exhibits a higher sensitivity and precision than the CD-IMS method for the determination of SG.

Effect of aggregated silver nanoparticles on luminol chemiluminescence system and its analytical application

We found that after silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) aggregated, its catalytic activity on luminol CL reaction obviously changed, and the change characteristic was closely related to the sizes of AgNPs. UV-visible spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectra, zeta potential and transmission electron microscopy studies were carried out to investigate the CL effect mechanism. The different CL responses of aggregated AgNPs with different size were suggested to be due to the two effects of quantum size and electron density in nanoparticle's conduction bands, and which one played a major role. The poisonous organic contaminants such as anilines, could induce the aggregation of AgNPs, were observed to affect effectively the luminol-H2O2-7 nm and 15 nm AgNPs CL systems and were detectable by use of a flow injection method with the enhanced or inhibited CL detection.

Amino acids as novel nucleophiles for silver nanoparticle-luminol chemiluminescence

The use of noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) as reductants in chemiluminescence (CL) has been reported only rarely owing to their high oxidation potentials. Interestingly, nucleophiles could dramatically lower the oxidation potential of Ag NPs, such that in the presence of nucleophiles Ag NPS could be used as reductants to induce the CL emission of luminol, an important CL reagent widely used in forensic analysis for the detection of trace amounts of blood. Although nucleophiles are indispensible in Ag NP-luminol CL, only inorganic nucleophiles such as Cl(-), Br(-), I(-) and S2O3 (2-) have been shown to be efficient. The effects of organic nucleophiles on CL remain unexplored. In this study, 20 standard amino acids were evaluated as novel organic nucleophiles in Ag NP-luminol CL. Histidine, lysine and arginine could initiate CL emission; the others could not. It is proposed that the different behaviors of 20 standard amino acids in the CL reactions derive from the interface chemistry between Ag NPs and these amino acids. UV/vis absorption spectra were studied to validate the interface chemistry. In addition, imidazole and histidine were chosen as a model pair to compare the behavior of the monodentate nucleophile with that of the corresponding multidentate nucleophile in Ag NP-luminol CL.