A Facile Electrochemical Method for Simultaneous and On-Line Measurements of Glucose and Lactate in Brain Microdialysate with Prussian Blue as the Electrocatalyst for Reduction of Hydrogen Peroxide

Continuous and Non-Invasive Lactate Monitoring Techniques in Critical Care Patients

Lactate, once merely regarded as an indicator of tissue hypoxia and muscular fatigue, has now gained prominence as a pivotal biomarker across various medical disciplines. Recent research has unveiled its critical role as a high-value prognostic marker in critical care medicine. The current practice of lactate detection involves periodic blood sampling. This approach is invasive and confined to measurements at six-hour intervals, leading to resource expenditure, time consumption, and patient discomfort. This review addresses non-invasive sensors that enable continuous monitoring of lactate in critical care patients. After the introduction, it discusses the iontophoresis system, followed by a description of the structural materials that are universally employed to create an interface between the integumentary system and the sensor. Subsequently, each method is detailed according to its physical principle, outlining its advantages, limitations, and pertinent aspects. The study concludes with a discussion and conclusions, aiming at the design of an intelligent sensor (Internet of Medical Things or IoMT) to facilitate continuous lactate monitoring and enhance the clinical decision-making support system in critical care medicine.

Multifunctional nanozymes for disease diagnosis and therapy

The development of nanotechnology has brought about groundbreaking advancements in diseases' diagnostics and therapeutics. Among them, multifunctional nanomaterials with enzyme-like activities (i.e., nanozymes) featured with high stability, large surface area for bioconjugation, and easy storage, offer unprecedented opportunities for disease diagnostics and treatment. Recent years have witnessed the great progress of nanozyme-based theranostics. To highlight these achievements, this review first introduces the recent advancements on nanozymes in biosensing and diagnostics. Then, it summarizes the applications of nanozymes in therapeutics including anti-tumor and antibacterial treatment, anti-inflammatory treatment, and other diseases treatment. In addition, several targeted strategies to improve the therapeutic efficacy of nanozyme are discussed. Finally, the opportunities and challenges in the field of diagnosis and therapy are summarized.

Challenges and strategies faced in the electrochemical biosensing analysis of neurochemicals in vivo: A review

Our brain is an intricate neuromodulatory network, and various neurochemicals, including neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, gases, ions, and energy metabolites, play important roles in regulating normal brain function. Abnormal release or imbalance of these substances will lead to various diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, therefore, in situ and real-time analysis of neurochemical interactions in pathophysiological conditions is beneficial to facilitate our understanding of brain function. Implantable electrochemical biosensors are capable of monitoring neurochemical signals in real time in extracellular fluid of specific brain regions because they can provide excellent temporal and spatial resolution. However, in vivo electrochemical biosensing analysis mainly faces the following challenges: First, foreign body reactions induced by microelectrode implantation, non-specific adsorption of proteins and redox products, and aggregation of glial cells, which will cause irreversible degradation of performance such as stability and sensitivity of the microsensor and eventually lead to signal loss; Second, various neurochemicals coexist in the complex brain environment, and electroactive substances with similar formal potentials interfere with each other. Therefore, it is a great challenge to design recognition molecules and tailor functional surfaces to develop in vivo electrochemical biosensors with high selectivity. Here, we take the above challenges as a starting point and detail the basic design principles for improving in vivo stability, selectivity and sensitivity of microsensors through some specific functionalized surface strategies as case studies. At the same time, we summarize surface modification strategies for in vivo electrochemical biosensing analysis of some important neurochemicals for researchers' reference. In addition, we also focus on the electrochemical detection of low basal concentrations of neurochemicals in vivo via amperometric waveform techniques, as well as the stability and biocompatibility of reference electrodes during long-term sensing, and provide an outlook on the future direction of in vivo electrochemical neurosensing.

In Situ Ratiometric Determination of Cerebral Ascorbic Acid after Ischemia Reperfusion

Ascorbic acid (AA) is significant in protecting the brain from further damage and maintaining brain homeostasis after ischemia stroke (IS); however, the dynamic change of cerebral AA content after different degrees of ischemic stroke is still unclear. Herein, carboxylated single-walled carbon nanotube (CNT-COOH)- and polyethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT)-modified carbon fiber microelectrodes (CFEs) were proposed to detect in situ cerebral AA with sensitivity, selectivity, and stability. Under differential pulse voltammetry scanning, the CFE/CNT-COOH/PEDOT gave a ratiometric, electrochemically responsive signal. The internal standard peak at -310 mV was from the reversible peak of O2 reduction and the deprotonation and protonation of quinone groups, while AA was oxidized at -70 mV. In vivo experimental results indicated that the cerebral AA level gradually increased with the ischemic time increasing in different middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model mice. This work implies that the increasing cerebral AA level may be highly related to the glutamate excitotoxicity and ROS-led cell apoptosis and paves a new way for further understanding the release and metabolic mechanisms of AA during ischemia reperfusion and IS.

An electrochemical microsensor based on a specific recognition element for the simultaneous detection of hydrogen peroxide and ascorbic acid in the live rat brain

A novel electrochemical microsensor was developed for the ratiometric and simultaneous determination of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and ascorbic acid (AA) based on the borate-phenol "switch" recognition mechanism and carbon nanotube (CNT) catalytic characteristics. First of all, a carbon fiber microelectrode (CFME) was coated with CNTs. Then, a specific probe, 9-anthraceneboronic acid pinacol ester (9-AP), was screened and decorated on CNTs through π-π stacking for the recognition of H2O2 based on the transformation of boric acid ester into electroactive phenols. CNTs not only served as the amplifiers of current signals, but also as catalysts facilitating AA oxidation. Meanwhile, ferrocenecarboxylic acid (Fc), inert to H2O2 and AA, was modified on another amino-functionalized CNT microelectrode via an amide bond as an internal reference channel for avoiding errors caused by environmental discrepancies. The two-channel ratiometric microsensor enabled the sensitive and accurate detection of H2O2 and AA simultaneously, and the detection limits were estimated to be 0.09 μM and 4.12 μM, respectively. The developed microsensor with remarkable analytical performance was finally applied for the simultaneous detection of H2O2 and AA in the live rat brain.

Stretchable Oxygen-Tolerant Sensor Based on a Single-Atom Fe-N4 Electrocatalyst for Observing the Role of Oxidative Stress in Hypertension

Oxidative stress and related oxidative damage have a causal relation with the pathogenesis of hypertension. Therefore, it is crucial to determine the mechanism of oxidative stress in hypertension by applying mechanical forces on cells to simulate hypertension while monitoring the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from cells under an oxidative stress environment. However, cellular level research has rarely been explored because monitoring the ROS released by cells is still challenging owing to the interference of O₂. In this study, an Fe single-atom-site catalyst anchored on N-doped carbon-based materials (Fe SASC/N-C) was synthesized, which exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) at a peak potential of +0.1 V and can effectively avoid the interference of O₂. Furthermore, we constructed a flexible and stretchable electrochemical sensor based on the Fe SASC/N-C catalyst to study the release of cellular H₂O₂ under simulated hypoxic and hypertension conditions. Density functional theory calculations show that the highest transition state energy barrier from the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), i.e., O₂ to H₂O, is 0.38 eV. In comparison, the H₂O₂ reduction reaction (HPRR) can be completed only by overcoming a lower energy barrier of 0.24 eV, endowing the HPRR to be more favorable on Fe SASC/N-C compared with the ORR. This study provided a reliable electrochemical platform for real-time investigation of H₂O₂-related underlying mechanisms of the hypertension process.

What Is Left for Real-Life Lactate Monitoring? Current Advances in Electrochemical Lactate (Bio)Sensors for Agrifood and Biomedical Applications

Monitoring of lactate is spreading from the evident clinical environment, where its role as a biomarker is notorious, to the agrifood ambit as well. In the former, lactate concentration can serve as a useful indicator of several diseases (e.g., tumour development and lactic acidosis) and a relevant value in sports performance for athletes, among others. In the latter, the spotlight is placed on the food control, bringing to the table meaningful information such as decaying product detection and stress monitoring of species. No matter what purpose is involved, electrochemical (bio)sensors stand as a solid and suitable choice. However, for the time being, this statement seems to be true only for discrete measurements. The reality exposes that real and continuous lactate monitoring is still a troublesome goal. In this review, a critical overview of electrochemical lactate (bio)sensors for clinical and agrifood situations is performed. Additionally, the transduction possibilities and different sensor designs approaches are also discussed. The main aim is to reflect the current state of the art and to indicate relevant advances (and bottlenecks) to keep in mind for further development and the final achievement of this highly worthy objective.

Application of Prussian Blue in Electrochemical and Optical Sensing of Free Chlorine

In this paper, an electrochemical free chlorine (FCL) sensor was formed by modifying a fluorine-doped tin oxide-coated glass slide (glass|FTO) with a layer of Prussian blue (glass|FTO|PB). The glass|FTO|PB sensor exhibited a wide linear detection range from 1.7 to 99.2 μmol L^-1 of FCL with a sensitivity of ~0.8 µA cm^-2 μmol^-1 L and showed high selectivity for FCL. However, ClO3-, ClO4- and NO3- ions have induced only a negligible amperometric response that is highly beneficial for a real-life sample analysis as these ions are commonly found in chlorine-treated water. Moreover, in this work, optical absorption measurement-based investigations of partially reduced PB were carried out as a means to characterize PB catalytic activity towards FCL and to investigate the possibility of applying PB for the optical detection of FCL.

A single-atom Cu-N2 catalyst eliminates oxygen interference for electrochemical sensing of hydrogen peroxide in a living animal brain

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) plays essential roles in various physiological and pathological processes. The electrochemical hydrogen peroxide reduction reaction (HPRR) has been recognized as an efficient approach to H₂O₂ sensing; however, the HPRR has always suffered from low tolerance against the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), resulting in poor selectivity of the HPRR-based sensing platform. In this study, we find that the electrochemical HPRR occurs preferentially compared to the ORR when isolated Cu atoms anchored on carbon nitride (Cu₁/C₃N₄) are used as a single-atom electrocatalyst, which is theoretically attributed to the lower energy barrier of the HPRR than that of the ORR on a Cu₁/C₃N₄ single-atom catalyst (SAC). With the Cu₁/C₃N₄ SAC as the electrocatalyst, we fabricated microsensors that have a good response to H₂O₂, but not to O₂ or other electroactive neurochemicals. When implanted into a living rat brain, the microsensor shows excellent in vivo sensing performance, enabling its application in real-time quantitative investigation of the dynamics of H₂O₂ production induced by mercaptosuccinate and glutathione monoethyl ester in a living animal brain.

We have achieved the selective monitoring of H₂O₂ fluctuation in vivo free from O₂ interference by a single-atom Cu–N₂ electrocatalyst.

Structure Defect Tuning of Metal-Organic Frameworks as a Nanozyme Regulatory Strategy for Selective Online Electrochemical Analysis of Uric Acid

Nanozymes have been designed to address the limitations of high cost and poor stability involving natural enzymes in analytical applications. However, the catalytic efficiency of the nanozyme still needs to be improved so that it can meet the selectivity and stability requirements of accurate biomolecule analysis. Here, we presented structure defects of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as a tuning strategy to regulate the catalytic efficiency of artificial nanozymes and investigated the roles of defects on the catalytic activity of oxidase-like MOFs. Structural defects were introduced into a novel Co-containing zeolitic imidazolate framework with gradually loosened morphology (ZIF-L-Co) by doping cysteine (Cys). It was found that with the increase in defect degree, the properties of materials such as ascorbate oxidase-like, glutathione oxidase-like, and laccase-like were obviously enhanced by over 5, 2, and 3 times, respectively. In-depth structural investigations indicate that the doping of sulfur inducing structural defects which may destroy the equilibrium state between cobalt and nitrogen in 2-methylimidazole and distort the crystal lattice, thereby enhancing the adsorption of oxygen and thus promoting the oxidase-like activity. The ZIF-L-Co-10 mg with enhanced ascorbate oxidase- and laccase-like activity was loaded into a microreactor and integrated into an online electrochemical system (OECS) in the upstream of the detector. This nanozyme-based microreactor can completely remove ascorbic acid, dopamine, and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid which are the main interference toward uric acid (UA) electrochemical measurement, and the ZIF-L-Co-10 mg Cys-based OECS system is capable of continuously capturing UA change in rat brain following ischemia-reperfusion injury. Structure defect tuning of ZIF-L-Co not only provides a new regulatory strategy for artificial nanozyme activity but also provides a critical chemical platform for the investigation of UA-related brain function and brain diseases.

ATP-responsive laccase@ZIF-90 as a signal amplification platform to achieve indirect highly sensitive online detection of ATP in rat brain

A novel electrochemical online system for indirect, highly sensitive and selective online monitoring of ATP in the cerebral microdialysate is presented based on the particular reaction of ATP with zeolitic imidazole framework-90 (ZIF-90) encapsulated laccase microcrystals (laccase@ZIF-90) and the natural catalytic activity of laccase.

In Situ Observation of Glucose Metabolism Dynamics of Endothelial Cells in Hyperglycemia with a Stretchable Biosensor: Research Tool for Bridging Diabetes and Atherosclerosis

Diabetes is a metabolic syndrome associated with hyperglycemia, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and endothelial dysfunction. Applying the mechanical stretch on cells to simulate blood circulation while monitoring the cell glucose metabolism in a high-glucose environment is important for better comprehension of the underlying mechanisms of atherosclerosis caused by diabetes. Herein, we developed a facile strategy integrating zeolitic imidazolate framework-8-encapsulated glucose oxidase (GOx@ZIF-8) and an gold (Au) stretchable electrode (Au SE) to construct a flexible and stretchable glucose sensor (GOx@ZIF-8/Au SE) for investigating the glucose metabolism mechanism of stretched endothelial cells in hyperglycemia. The encapsulation of GOx with ZIF-8 prevents the aggregation and detachment of GOx from the sensing interface and endows the biosensor with high stability. Additionally, the Au SE with inherent stretchability can act as an integrated platform for mechanical stimulation as well as for transient signal sensing during the mechanotransduction process. Moreover, this flexible and stretchable glucose sensor is successfully used for monitoring the glucose metabolism of mechanically stimulated cells in hyperglycemia, and it was found for the first time that the glucose utilization ability of cells under static conditions is higher than that in the stretched state. This facile and straightforward method paves a promising route for designing a stable enzyme-based stretchable biosensor for detecting the underlying mechanisms of atherosclerosis caused by diabetes.

"Turn-on" ratiometric electrochemical detection of H2O2 in one drop of whole blood sample via a novel microelectrode sensor

Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many diseases, while the exact mechanism that hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) as one of the most abundant reactive oxygen species (ROS) exerts its influence on oxidative stress remains unclear. We developed a novel turn-on ratiometric electrochemical sensor for the detection of H₂O₂ in blood samples. The electrochemical probe 5-(1,2-dithiolan-3-yl)-N-(4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)phenyl)pent-anamide (BA) was designed and synthesized for the selective detection of H₂O₂ via a one-step amide reaction. Meanwhile, Nile Blue A (NB) was optimized as an internal reference molecule, thus enabling accurate quantification of H₂O₂ in a complex environment. BA and NB were then co-assembled onto a carbon fiber microelectrode (CFME) coated with Au cones. The oxidation peak current ratio between BA and NB demonstrated good linearity with the logarithm of the H₂O₂ concentration values ranging from 0.5 μM to 400 μM with a low detection limit of 0.02 μM. The developed sensor showed remarkable selectivity against potential interferences in whole blood samples, especially for ascorbic acid, uric acid, and dopamine. In combination with the unique characteristics of CFME, such as a small size and good biocompatibility, the microsensor was used for rapid analysis of one drop of whole blood sample. This sensor not only creates a new platform for the detection of H₂O₂ in whole blood samples, but also provides a new design strategy of other ROS analysis for early diagnosis of ROS-related diseases, drug discovery processes, and pathological mechanisms.

Facile Ratiometric Electrochemical Sensor for In Vivo/Online Repetitive Measurements of Cerebral Ascorbic Acid in Brain Microdiaysate

The in vivo monitoring of ascorbic acid (AA) following physiological and pathological events is of great importance because AA plays a critical role in brain functions. The conventional electrochemical sensors (ECSs) usually suffered from poor selectivity and sluggish electron transfer kinetics for cerebral AA oxidation. The exploitation of ECSs adapt to the electrochemical detection (ECD)-microdialysis system, here we reported a facile ratiometric electrochemical sensor (RECS) for in vivo/online repetitive measurements of cerebral AA in brain microdiaysate. The sensor were constructed by careful electrodeposition of graphene oxide (GO) onto glassy carbon (GC) electrodes. Methylene blue (MB) was electrostatically adsorbed onto the GO surface as a built-in reference to achieve ratiometric detection of AA. The subsequent proper electroreduction treatment was able to readily facilitate the oxidation of AA at a relatively negative potential (-100 mV) and the oxidation of MB at separated potential (-428 mV). The in vitro experiments demonstrated that the RECS exhibited high sensitivity (detection limit: 10 nM), selectivity, and stability toward AA determination, enabling the in vivo/online repetitive measurement of cerebral AA in brain microdiaysate with high reliability. As a result, the designed RECS was successfully applied in the ECD-microdialysis system to in vivo/online repetitive monitoring the dynamic change of cerebral AA in the progress of the global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion events. More, the microinjection of endogenous AA and AA oxidase (AAOx) verified the reliability of the proposed RECS for in vivo/online repetitive cerebral AA detection. This proposed sensor filled the gap that no rational electrochemical sensor has been developed for the ECD-microdialysis system since its creation by the Mao group in 2005, which provided a reliable and effective method for brain chemistry research.

Printed, Flexible Lactate Sensors: Design Considerations Before Performing On-Body Measurements

This work reports the process of sensor development, optimization, and characterization before the transition to on-body measurements can be made. Sensors using lactate oxidase as a sensing mechanism and tetrathiafulvalene as a mediator were optimized for sporting applications. Optimized sensors show linear range up to 24 mM lactate and sensitivity of 4.8 μA/mM which normalizes to 68 μA*cm-2/mM when accounting for surface area of the sensor. The optimized sensors were characterized 3 different ways: using commercially available reference and counter electrodes, using printed reference and counter electrodes, and using a printed reference electrode with no counter electrode. Sensors intended for measuring sweat must be selective in the presence of sweat constituents. Thus, in addition to traditional characterization in pH 7.0 buffer, we characterized sensor performance in solutions intended to approximate sweat. Sensor performance in pH 7.0 buffer solution was not reflective of sensor performance in artificial sweat, indicating that further characterization is necessary between sensor measurement in pH 7.0 buffer and on-body measurements. Furthermore, we performed enzyme activity measurements and sensor measurements concurrently in five different salts individually, finding that while NH4Cl and MgCl2 do not affect enzyme activity or sensor performance in physiologically relevant ranges of salt concentration, NaCl concentration or KCl concentration decreases enzyme activity and sensor current. On the other hand, CaCl2 induced a nonlinear change in sensor performance and enzyme activity with increasing salt concentration.

A MoN nanosheet array supported on carbon cloth as an efficient electrochemical sensor for nitrite detection

Nitrite, widely found in the environment and the food industry, poses a great threat to human health because of its potential toxicity, and its detection is highly important. We report that a MoN nanosheet array on carbon cloth (MoN NA/CC) behaves as an efficient catalyst for nitrite reduction in neutral solution. As a nitrite sensor, this MoN NA/CC offers a wide linear range from 1 μM to 5 mM and a low detection limit of 3 nM (S/N = 3), with a high sensitivity of 4319 μA mM^-1 cm^-2 and long-term stability and reproducibility.

Unconventional CN vacancies suppress iron-leaching in Prussian blue analogue pre-catalyst for boosted oxygen evolution catalysis

The incorporation of defects, such as vacancies, into functional materials could substantially tailor their intrinsic properties. Progress in vacancy chemistry has enabled advances in many technological applications, but creating new type of vacancies in existing material system remains a big challenge. We show here that ionized nitrogen plasma can break bonds of iron-carbon-nitrogen-nickel units in nickel-iron Prussian blue analogues, forming unconventional carbon-nitrogen vacancies. We study oxygen evolution reaction on the carbon-nitrogen vacancy-mediated Prussian blue analogues, which exhibit a low overpotential of 283 millivolts at 10 milliamperes per square centimeter in alkali, far exceeding that of original Prussian blue analogues and previously reported oxygen evolution catalysts with vacancies. We ascribe this enhancement to the in-situ generated nickel-iron oxy(hydroxide) active layer during oxygen evolution reaction, where the Fe leaching was significantly suppressed by the unconventional carbon-nitrogen vacancies. This work opens up opportunities for producing vacancy defects in nanomaterials for broad applications.

MnO2 nanoarrays: an efficient catalyst electrode for nitrite electroreduction toward sensing and NH3 synthesis applications

A MnO₂ nanoarray on titanium mesh (MnO₂ NA/TM) is shown to be an efficient catalyst electrode for the electroreduction of nitrite.

Multianalyte Physiological Microanalytical Devices

Advances in scientific instrumentation have allowed experimentalists to evaluate well-known systems in new ways and to gain insight into previously unexplored or poorly understood phenomena. Within the growing field of multianalyte physiometry (MAP), microphysiometers are being developed that are capable of electrochemically measuring changes in the concentration of various metabolites in real time. By simultaneously quantifying multiple analytes, these devices have begun to unravel the complex pathways that govern biological responses to ischemia and oxidative stress while contributing to basic scientific discoveries in bioenergetics and neurology. Patients and clinicians have also benefited from the highly translational nature of MAP, and the continued expansion of the repertoire of analytes that can be measured with multianalyte microphysiometers will undoubtedly play a role in the automation and personalization of medicine. This is perhaps most evident with the recent advent of fully integrated noninvasive sensor arrays that can continuously monitor changes in analytes linked to specific disease states and deliver a therapeutic agent as required without the need for patient action.

Co3O4 nanoparticles anchored on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide as a multifunctional catalyst for H2O2 reduction, oxygen reduction and evolution reaction

This study describes a facile and effective route to synthesize hybrid material consisting of Co₃O₄ nanoparticles anchored on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (Co₃O₄/N-rGO) as a high-performance tri-functional catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and H₂O₂ sensing. Electrocatalytic activity of Co₃O₄/N-rGO to hydrogen peroxide reduction was tested by cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and chronoamperometry. Under a reduction potential at −0.6 V to H₂O₂, this constructing H₂O₂ sensor exhibits a linear response ranging from 0.2 to 17.5 mM with a detection limit to be 0.1 mM. Although Co₃O₄/rGO or nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (N-rGO) alone has little catalytic activity, the Co₃O₄/N-rGO exhibits high ORR activity. The Co₃O₄/N-rGO hybrid demonstrates satisfied catalytic activity with ORR peak potential to be −0.26 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and the number of electron transfer number is 3.4, but superior stability to Pt/C in alkaline solutions. The same hybrid is also highly active for OER with the onset potential, current density and Tafel slope to be better than Pt/C. The unusual catalytic activity of Co₃O₄/N-rGO for hydrogen peroxide reduction, ORR and OER may be ascribed to synergetic chemical coupling effects between Co₃O₄, nitrogen and graphene.

Gold–platinum bimetallic nanoclusters with enhanced peroxidase-like activity and their integrated agarose hydrogel-based sensing platform for the colorimetric analysis of glucose levels in serum

Bimetallic Au–PtNCs with enhanced peroxidase-like activity were integrated into agarose hydrogels for direct visualization of glucose in human serum.

Sequential enzymatic derivatization coupled with online microdialysis sampling for simultaneous profiling of mouse tumor extracellular hydrogen peroxide, lactate, and glucose

Probing tumor extracellular metabolites is a vitally important issue in current cancer biology. In this study an analytical system was constructed for the in vivo monitoring of mouse tumor extracellular hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), lactate, and glucose by means of microdialysis (MD) sampling and fluorescence determination in conjunction with a smart sequential enzymatic derivatization scheme-involving a loading sequence of fluorogenic reagent/horseradish peroxidase, microdialysate, lactate oxidase, pyruvate, and glucose oxidase-for step-by-step determination of sampled H₂O₂, lactate, and glucose in mouse tumor microdialysate. After optimization of the overall experimental parameters, the system's detection limit reached as low as 0.002 mM for H₂O₂, 0.058 mM for lactate, and 0.055 mM for glucose, based on 3 μL of microdialysate, suggesting great potential for determining tumor extracellular concentrations of lactate and glucose. Spike analyses of offline-collected mouse tumor microdialysate and monitoring of the basal concentrations of mouse tumor extracellular H₂O₂, lactate, and glucose, as well as those after imparting metabolic disturbance through intra-tumor administration of a glucose solution through a prior-implanted cannula, were conducted to demonstrate the system's applicability. Our results evidently indicate that hyphenation of an MD sampling device with an optimized sequential enzymatic derivatization scheme and a fluorescence spectrometer can be used successfully for multi-analyte monitoring of tumor extracellular metabolites in living animals.

Functional surface engineering of quantum dot hydrogels for selective fluorescence imaging of extracellular lactate release

Selective and sensitive detection of extracellular lactate is of fundamental significance for studying the metabolic alterations in tumor progression. Here we report the rational design and synthesis of a quantum-dot-hydrogel-based fluorescent probe for biosensing and bioimaging the extracellular lactate. By surface engineering the destabilized quantum dot sol with Nile Blue, the destabilized Nile-Blue-functionalized quantum dot sol cannot only self-assemble forming quantum dot hydrogel but also monitor lactate in the presence of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide cofactor and lactate dehydrogenase through fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Notably, the surface engineered quantum dot hydrogel show high selectivity toward lactate over common metal ions, amino acids and other small molecules that widely coexist in biological system. Moreover, the destabilized Nile-Blue-functionalized quantum dots can encapsulate isolated cancer cells when self-assembled into a hydrogel and thus specifically detect and image the extracellular lactate metabolism. By virtue of these properties, the functionalized quantum dot hydrogel was further successfully applied to monitor the effect of metabolic agents.

Tunable Fluorescent Silica-Coated Carbon Dots: A Synergistic Effect for Enhancing the Fluorescence Sensing of Extracellular Cu²⁺ in Rat Brain

Carbon quantum dots (CDs) combined with self-assembly strategy have created an innovative way to fabricate novel hybrids for biological analysis. This study demonstrates a new fluorescence platform with enhanced selectivity for copper ion sensing in the striatum of the rat brain following the cerebral calm/sepsis process. Here, the fabrication of silica-coated CDs probes is based on the efficient hybridization of APTES which act as a precursor of organosilane self-assembly, with CDs to form silica-coated CDs probes. The fluorescent properties including intensity, fluorescence quantum yield, excitation-independent region, and red/blue shift of the emission wavelength of the probe are tunable through reliable regulation of the ratio of CDs and APTES, realizing selectivity and sensitivity-oriented Cu(2+) sensing. The as-prepared probes (i.e., 3.33% APTES-0.9 mg mL(-1) CDs probe) show a synergistic amplification effect of CDs and APTES on enhancing the fluorescence signal of Cu(2+) detection through fluorescent self-quenching. The underlying mechanism can be ascribed to the stronger interaction including chelation and electrostatic attraction between Cu(2+) and N and O atoms-containing as well as negatively charged silica-coated CDs than other interference. Interestingly, colorimetric assay and Tyndall effect can be observed and applied to directly distinguish the concentration of Cu(2+) by the naked eye. The proposed fluorescent platform here has been successfully applied to monitor the alteration of striatum Cu(2+) in rat brain during the cerebral calm/sepsis process. The versatile properties of the probe provide a new and effective fluorescent platform for the sensing method in vivo sampled from the rat brain.

New faces of porous Prussian blue: interfacial assembly of integrated hetero-structures for sensing applications

Prussian blue (PB), the oldest synthetic coordination compound, is a classic and fascinating transition metal coordination material. Prussian blue is based on a three-dimensional (3-D) cubic polymeric porous network consisting of alternating ferric and ferrous ions, which provides facile assembly as well as precise interaction with active sites at functional interfaces. A fundamental understanding of the assembly mechanism of PB hetero-interfaces is essential to enable the full potential applications of PB crystals, including chemical sensing, catalysis, gas storage, drug delivery and electronic displays. Developing controlled assembly methods towards functionally integrated hetero-interfaces with adjustable sizes and morphology of PB crystals is necessary. A key point in the functional interface and device integration of PB nanocrystals is the fabrication of hetero-interfaces in a well-defined and oriented fashion on given substrates. This review will bring together these key aspects of the hetero-interfaces of PB nanocrystals, ranging from structure and properties, interfacial assembly strategies, to integrated hetero-structures for diverse sensing.

Poly(thymine)-Templated Copper Nanoparticles as a Fluorescent Indicator for Hydrogen Peroxide and Oxidase-Based Biosensing

Biomineralized fluorescent metal nanoparticles have attracted considerable interest in many fields by virtue of their excellent properties in synthesis and application. Poly(thymine)-templated fluorescent copper nanoparticles (T-CuNPs) as a promising nanomaterial has been exploited by us recently and displays great potential for signal transducing in biochemical analysis. However, the application of T-CuNPs is rare and still at an early stage. Here, a new fluorescent analytical strategy has been developed for H2O2 and oxidase-based biosensing by exploiting T-CuNPs as an effective signal indicator. The mechanism is mainly based on the poly(thymine) length-dependent formation of T-CuNPs and the probe's oxidative cleavage. In this assay, the probe T40 can effectively template the formation of T-CuNPs by a fast in situ manner in the absence of H2O2, with high fluorescent signal, while the probe is cleaved into short-oligonucleotide fragments by hydroxyl radical (·OH) which is formed from the Fenton reaction in the presence of H2O2, leading to the decline of fluorescence intensity. By taking advantage of H2O2 as a mediator, this strategy is further exploited for oxidase-based biosensing. As the proof-of-concept, glucose in human serum has been chosen as the model system and has been detected, and its practical applicability has been investigated by assay of real clinical blood samples. Results demonstrate that the proposed strategy has not only good detection capability but also eminent detection performance, such as simplicity and low-cost, holding great potential for constructing effective sensors for biochemical and clinical applications.

Stabilization of Prussian blue with polyaniline and carbon nanotubes in neutral media for in vivo determination of glucose in rat brains

This study demonstrates a new electrochemical microbiosensor for selectivein vivomonitoring of glucose in rat brains.

A multi-enzyme microreactor-based online electrochemical system for selective and continuous monitoring of acetylcholine

This study demonstrates an online electrochemical system (OECS) for selective and continuous measurements of acetylcholine (ACh) through efficiently integrating in vivo microdialysis, a multi-enzyme microreactor and an electrochemical detector.

Online electrochemical systems for continuous neurochemical measurements with low-potential mediator-based electrochemical biosensors as selective detectors

This study demonstrates a new strategy to develop online electrochemical systems (OECSs) for continuously monitoring neurochemicals by efficiently integrating in vivo microdialysis with an oxidase-based electrochemical biosensor with low-potential electron mediators to shuttle the electron transfer of the oxidases.