Quantitative Fluorescence Quenching on Antibody-conjugated Graphene Oxide as a Platform for Protein Sensing

Nanobio Interface Between Proteins and 2D Nanomaterials

Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have significantly contributed to recent advances in material sciences and nanotechnology, owing to their layered structure. Despite their potential as multifunctional theranostic agents, the biomedical translation of these materials is limited due to a lack of knowledge and control over their interaction with complex biological systems. In a biological microenvironment, the high surface energy of nanomaterials leads to diverse interactions with biological moieties such as proteins, which play a crucial role in unique physiological processes. These interactions can alter the size, surface charge, shape, and interfacial composition of the nanomaterial, ultimately affecting its biological activity and identity. This review critically discusses the possible interactions between proteins and 2D nanomaterials, along with a wide spectrum of analytical techniques that can be used to study and characterize such interplay. A better understanding of these interactions would help circumvent potential risks and provide guidance toward the safer design of 2D nanomaterials as a platform technology for various biomedical applications.

Interaction of Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles with Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Visualized in the Cell-IQ System

Graphene oxide is a promising nanomaterial with many potential applications. However, before it can be widely used in areas such as drug delivery and medical diagnostics, its influence on various cell populations in the human body must be studied to ensure its safety. We investigated the interaction of graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in the Cell-IQ system, evaluating cell viability, mobility, and growth rate. GO nanoparticles of different sizes coated with linear or branched polyethylene glycol (P or bP, respectively) were used at concentrations of 5 and 25 μg/mL. Designations were the following: P-GOs (Ø 184 ± 73 nm), bP-GOs (Ø 287 ± 52 nm), P-GOb (Ø 569 ± 14 nm), and bP-GOb (Ø 1376 ± 48 nm). After incubating the cells with all types of nanoparticles for 24 h, the internalization of the nanoparticles by the cells was observed. We found that all GO nanoparticles used in this study exerted a cytotoxic effect on hMSCs when used at a high concentration (25 μg/mL), whereas at a low concentration (5 μg/mL) a cytotoxic effect was observed only for bP-GOb particles. We also found that P-GOs particles decreased cell mobility at a concentration of 25 μg/mL, whereas bP-GOb particles increased it. Larger particles (P-GOb and bP-GOb) increased the rate of movement of hMSCs regardless of concentration. There were no statistically significant differences in the growth rate of cells compared with the control group.

Progress in Fluorescence Biosensing and Food Safety towards Point-of-Detection (PoD) System

The detection of pathogens in food substances is of crucial concern for public health and for the safety of the natural environment. Nanomaterials, with their high sensitivity and selectivity have an edge over conventional organic dyes in fluorescent-based detection methods. Advances in microfluidic technology in biosensors have taken place to meet the user criteria of sensitive, inexpensive, user-friendly, and quick detection. In this review, we have summarized the use of fluorescence-based nanomaterials and the latest research approaches towards integrated biosensors, including microsystems containing fluorescence-based detection, various model systems with nano materials, DNA probes, and antibodies. Paper-based lateral-flow test strips and microchips as well as the most-used trapping components are also reviewed, and the possibility of their performance in portable devices evaluated. We also present a current market-available portable system which was developed for food screening and highlight the future direction for the development of fluorescence-based systems for on-site detection and stratification of common foodborne pathogens.

Plasmon Damping Rates in Coulomb-Coupled 2D Layers in a Heterostructure

The Coulomb excitations of charge density oscillation are calculated for a double-layer heterostructure. Specifically, we consider two-dimensional (2D) layers of silicene and graphene on a substrate. From the obtained surface response function, we calculated the plasmon dispersion relations, which demonstrate how the Coulomb interaction renormalizes the plasmon frequencies. Most importantly, we have conducted a thorough investigation of how the decay rates of the plasmons in these heterostructures are affected by the Coulomb coupling between different types of two-dimensional materials whose separations could be varied. A novel effect of nullification of the silicene band gap is noticed when graphene is introduced into the system. To utilize these effects for experimental and industrial purposes, graphical results for the different parameters are presented.

Metal-Induced Fluorescence Quenching of Photoconvertible Fluorescent Protein DendFP

Sensitive and accurate detection of specific metal ions is important for sensor development and can advance analytical science and support environmental and human medical examinations. Fluorescent proteins (FPs) can be quenched by specific metal ions and spectroscopically show a unique fluorescence-quenching sensitivity, suggesting their potential application as FP-based metal biosensors. Since the characteristics of the fluorescence quenching are difficult to predict, spectroscopic analysis of new FPs is important for the development of FP-based biosensors. Here we reported the spectroscopic and structural analysis of metal-induced fluorescence quenching of the photoconvertible fluorescent protein DendFP. The spectroscopic analysis showed that Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, and Cu²⁺ significantly reduced the fluorescence emission of DendFP. The metal titration experiments showed that the dissociation constants (K_d) of Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, and Cu²⁺ for DendFP were 24.59, 41.66, and 137.18 μM, respectively. The tetrameric interface of DendFP, which the metal ions cannot bind to, was analyzed. Structural comparison of the metal-binding sites of DendFP with those of iq-mEmerald and Dronpa suggested that quenchable DendFP has a unique metal-binding site on the β-barrel that does not utilize the histidine pair for metal binding.

Quenching Efficiency of Quantum Dots Conjugated to Lipid Bilayers on Graphene Oxide Evaluated by Fluorescence Single Particle Tracking

A single particle observation of quantum dots (QDs) was performed on lipid bilayers formed on graphene oxide (GO). The long-range fluorescence quenching of GO has been applied to biosensing for various biomolecules. We demonstrated the single particle observation of a QD on supported lipid bilayers in this study, aiming to detect the quenching efficiency of lipid and protein molecules in a lipid bilayer by fluorescence single particle tacking (SPT). A single lipid bilayer or double lipid bilayers were formed on GO flakes deposited on a thermally oxidized silicon substrate by the vesicle fusion method. The QDs were conjugated on the lipid bilayers, and single particle images of the QDs were obtained under the quenching effect of GO. The quenching efficiency of a single QD was evaluated from the fluorescence intensities on the regions with and without GO. The quenching efficiency reflecting the layer numbers of the lipid bilayers was obtained.

Doxorubicin-loaded graphene oxide nanocomposites in cancer medicine: Stimuli-responsive carriers, co-delivery and suppressing resistance

INTRODUCTION

The application of doxorubicin (DOX) in cancer therapy has been limited due to its drug resistance and poor internalization. Graphene oxide (GO) nanostructures have the capacity for DOX delivery while promoting its cytotoxicity in cancer.

AREAS COVERED

The favorable characteristics of GO nanocomposites, preparation method, and application in cancer therapy are described. Then, DOX resistance in cancer is discussed. The GO-mediated photothermal therapy and DOX delivery for cancer suppression are described. Preparation of stimuli-responsive GO nanocomposites, surface functionalization, hybrid nanoparticles, and theranostic applications are emphasized in DOX chemotherapy.

EXPERT OPINION

Graphene oxide nanoparticle-based photothermal therapy maximizes the anti-cancer activity of DOX against cancer cells. Apart from DOX delivery, GO nanomaterials are capable of loading anti-cancer agents and genetic tools to minimize drug resistance and enhance the cytolytic impact of DOX in cancer eradication. To enhance DOX accumulation in cancer cells, stimuli-responsive (redox-, light-, enzyme- and pH-sensitive) GO nanoparticles have been developed for DOX delivery. Further development of targeted delivery of DOX-loaded GO nanomaterials against cancer cells may be achieved by surface modification of polymers such as polyethylene glycol, hyaluronic acid, and chitosan. Doxorubicin-loaded GO nanoparticles have demonstrated theranostic potential for simultaneous diagnosis and therapy. Hybridization of GO with other nanocarriers such as silica and gold nanoparticles further broadens their potential anti-cancer therapy applications.

Graphene oxide and fluorescent aptamer based novel biosensor for detection of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3

For maintaining the healthy metabolic status, vitamin D is a beneficial metabolite stored majorly in its pre-activated form, 25-hydroxyvitamin D₃ (25(OH)D₃). Due to its important role in bone strengthening, the study was planned to quantify 25(OH)D₃ levels in our blood. Quantification techniques for 25(OH)D₃ are costly thus requiring a need for a low cost, and sensitive detection methods. In this work, an economic, and sensitive sensor for the detection of 25(OH)D₃ was developed using aptamer and graphene oxide (GO). Aptamer is an oligonucleotide, sensitive towards its target, whereas, GO with 2D nanosheets provides excellent quenching surface. Aptamer labeled with fluorescein (5’, 6-FAM) is adsorbed by π–π interaction on the GO sheets leading to quenching of the fluorescence due to Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). However, in the presence of 25(OH)D₃, a major portion of aptamer fluorescence remains unaltered, due to its association with 25(OH)D₃. However, in the absence, aptamer fluorescence gets fully quenched. Fluorescence intensity quenching was monitored using fluorescence spectrophotometer and agarose gel based system. The limit of detection of 25(OH)D₃ by this method was found to be 0.15 µg/mL whereas when GO-COOH was used, limit of detection was improved to 0.075 µg/mL. Therefore, this method could come up as a new sensing method in the field of vitamin D detection.

Extremely Uniform Graphene Oxide Thin Film as a Universal Platform for One-Step Biomaterial Patterning

Graphene oxide (GO) has proven to be a highly promising material across various biomedical research avenues, including cancer therapy and stem cell-based regenerative medicine. However, creating a uniform GO coating as a thin layer on desired substrates has been considered challenging owing to the intrinsic variability of the size and shape of GO. Herein, a new method is introduced that enables highly uniform GO thin film (UGTF) fabrication on various biocompatible substrates. By optimizing the composition of the GO suspension and preheating process to the substrates, the "coffee-ring effect" is significantly suppressed. After applying a special postsmoothing process referred to as the low-oxygen concentration and low electrical energy plasma (LOLP) treatment, GO is converted to small fragments with a film thickness of up to several nanometers (≈5.1 nm) and a height variation of only 0.6 nm, based on atomic force microscopy images. The uniform GO thin film can also be generated as periodic micropatterns on glass and polymer substrates, which are effective in one-step micropatterning of both antibodies and mouse melanoma cells (B16-F10). Therefore, it can be concluded that the developed UGTF is useful for various graphene-based biological applications.

Graphene Oxide-Based Simple and Rapid Detection of Antibiotic Resistance Gene via Quantum Dot-Labeled Zinc Finger Proteins

With the increasing rise of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, a simple and rapid detection of antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) is crucial to mitigate the spreading of antibiotic resistance. DNA-binding zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) can be engineered to recognize specific double-stranded (ds) DNA sequences in ARG. Here, we designed a simple and rapid method to detect ARG in bacteria utilizing engineered ZFPs and 2D nanosheet graphene oxide (GO) as a sensing platform. Our approach relies on the on and off effect of fluorescence signal in the presence and absence of target ARG, respectively. By taking advantage of the unique quenching capability of GO due to its electronic property, quantum dot (QD)-labeled ZFPs are adsorbed onto the GO sheets, and their fluorescence signal is quenched by proximal GO sheets through fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). In the presence of target DNA, ZFP binding to the target DNA induces dissociation from GO, thereby restoring the fluorescence signal. Our system detects target DNA through restoration of QD emission as the restored signal increases directly with target DNA concentrations. Engineered ZFPs were able to detect specific dsDNA of the tetracycline resistance gene tetM with high specificity after only 10 min incubation on our GO-based sensing system. Our sensing system employed one-step FRET-based ZFP and GO combined technology to enable rapid and quantitative detection of ARG, providing a limit of detection as low as 1 nM. This study demonstrated the application of GO in conjunction with engineered DNA-binding domains for the direct detection of dsDNA with great potential as a rapid and reliable screening and detecton method against the growing threat of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

An artificial intelligence process of immunoassay for multiple biomarkers based on logic gates

We present a universal platform to synchronously analyze the possible existing state of two protein biomarkers. This platform is based on the integration of three logic gates: NAND, OR and NOT. These logic gates were constructed by the principle of immune recognition and fluorescence quenching between fluorescein labelled antibodies/antigens and antibody-conjugated graphene oxide (GO). An artificial intelligence (AI) protein analysis process was designed by us and accordingly a small program was written in JAVA. This protein analysis process with its JAVA code may be applied to give logic judgments on the possible existing state of two protein components. We expect that our fundamental research on multiple biomarker analysis can provide potential application in AI-assisted medical diagnosis with the interface for remote medical treatment.

Usage of Graphene Oxide in Fluorescence Quenching-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for the Detection of Cry2Ab Protein Present in Transgenic Plants

Graphene oxide-based sensor technologies in various detection platforms have been adopted in multiple dimensions. Most of the applications in combination with other materials such as gold, silver, enzymes, and so forth are read as electrical, electrochemical, impedance, and fluorescence signals. We report the development of a novel and simple fluorescence quenching-based immunoassay platform that provides quantitative binding sites for the Cry2Ab protein content present in the transgenic cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) plant. In this assay, the graphene oxide-conjugated anti-Cry2Ab antibody serves as the binding site for the analyte Cry2Ab protein, which forms a complex with a second anti-Cry2Ab fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated antibody. This complex acts as the reaction center of this platform where the graphene oxide quenches the fluorescence signal of the FITC molecule. This microtiter plate-based method currently works at a sensitivity of 0.78 ng /ml, which can further be improved.

Multifunctional graphene oxide/iron oxide nanoparticles for magnetic targeted drug delivery dual magnetic resonance/fluorescence imaging and cancer sensing

Graphene Oxide (GO) has recently attracted substantial attention in biomedical field as an effective platform for biological sensing, tissue scaffolds and in vitro fluorescence imaging. However, the targeting modality and the capability of its in vivo detection have not been explored. To enhance the functionality of GO, we combine it with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) serving as a biocompatible magnetic drug delivery addends and magnetic resonance contrast agent for MRI. Synthesized GO-Fe3O4 conjugates have an average size of 260 nm and show low cytotoxicity comparable to that of GO. Fe3O4 nanoparticles provide superparamagnetic properties for magnetic targeted drug delivery allowing simple manipulation by the magnetic field and magnetic resonance imaging with high r2/r1 relaxivity ratios of ~10.7. GO-Fe3O4 retains pH-sensing capabilities of GO used in this work to detect cancer versus healthy environments in vitro and exhibits fluorescence in the visible for bioimaging. As a drug delivery platform GO-Fe3O4 shows successful fluorescence-tracked transport of hydrophobic doxorubicin non-covalently conjugated to GO with substantial loading and 2.5-fold improved efficacy. As a result, we propose GO-Fe3O4 nanoparticles as a novel multifunctional magnetic targeted platform for high efficacy drug delivery traced in vitro by GO fluorescence and in vivo via MRI capable of optical cancer detection.

A graphene/Si Schottky diode for the highly sensitive detection of protein

Herein, a graphene/Si-based device was introduced for bovine serum albumin (BSA) sensing.

Array-Based Protein Sensing Using an Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE) Light-Up Probe

Protein detection and identification are important for the diagnosis of diseases; however, the development of facile sensing probes still remains challenging. Here, we present an array-based "turn on" protein-sensing platform capable of detecting and identifying proteins using aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens). The water-soluble AIEgens in which fluorescence was initially turned off showed strong fluorescence in the presence of nanomolar concentrations of proteins via restriction of the intramolecular rotation of the AIEgens. The binding affinities between the AIEgens and proteins were associated with various chemical functional groups on AIEgens, resulting in distinct fluorescent-signal outcomes for each protein. The combined fluorescence outputs provided sufficient information to detect and discriminate proteins of interest by linear discriminant analysis. Furthermore, the array-based sensor enabled classification of different concentrations of specific proteins. These results provide novel insight into the use of the AIEgens as a new type of sensing probe in array-based systems.

Graphene Oxide-Upconversion Nanoparticle Based Portable Sensors for Assessing Nutritional Deficiencies in Crops

The development of innovative technologies to rapidly detect biomarkers associated with nutritional deficiencies in crops is highly relevant to agriculture and thus could impact the future of food security. Zinc (Zn) is an important micronutrient in plants, and deficiency leads to poor health, quality, and yield of crops. We have developed portable sensors, based on graphene oxide and upconversion nanoparticles, which could be used in the early detection of Zn deficiency in crops, sensing mRNAs encoding members of the ZIP-transporter family in crops. ZIPs are membrane transport proteins, some of which are up-regulated at the early stages of Zn deficiency, and they are part of the biological mechanism by which crops respond to nutritional deficiency. The principle of these sensors is based on the intensity of the optical output resulting from the interaction of oligonucleotide-coated upconversion nanoparticles and graphene oxide in the absence or presence of a specific oligonucleotide target. The sensors can reliably detect mRNAs in RNA extracts from plants using a smartphone camera. Our work introduces the development of accurate and highly sensitive sensors for use in the field to determine crop nutrient status and ultimately facilitate economically important nutrient management decisions.

Controlled fluorescence quenching by antibody-conjugated graphene oxide to measure tau protein

We report an ultrasensitive immunoassay for tau protein-a key marker of Alzheimer's disease. This sensing platform relies on graphene oxide (GO) surfaces conjugated with anti-human tau antibody to provide quantitative binding sites for the tau protein. The GO quenches standard fluorescein isothiocyanate labelled tau (tau-FITC) when tau protein and tau-FITC are both present and compete for the binding sites. This change in fluorescence signal can be used to quantitate tau protein. In contrast with traditional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), our method does not require enzyme-linked secondary antibodies for protein recognition nor does it require an enzyme substrate for optical signal generation. This requires fewer reagents and has less systematic error than the antigen-antibody recognition steps in ELISA. Our method has a tau protein detection limit of 0.14 pmol ml^-1 in buffer. This approach could be developed into a promising biosensor for the detection of tau protein and may be useful in the clinical diagnosis of tau-induced neurodegeneration syndromes.

Fluorescence and Sensing Applications of Graphene Oxide and Graphene Quantum Dots: A Review

Graphene oxide and graphene quantum dots are attractive fluorophores that are inexpensive, nontoxic, photostable, water-soluble, biocompatible, and environmentally friendly. They find extensive applications in fluorescent biosensors and chemosensors, in which they serve as either fluorophores or quenchers. As fluorophores, they display tunable photoluminescence emission and the "giant red-edge effect". As quenchers, they exhibit a remarkable quenching efficiency through either electron transfer or Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) process. In this review, the origin of fluorescence and the mechanism of excitation wavelength-dependent fluorescence of graphene oxide and graphene quantum dots are discussed. Sensor design strategies based on graphene oxide and graphene quantum dots are presented. The applications of these sensors in health care, the environment, agriculture, and food safety are highlighted.