3D printing-based lateral flow visual assay utilizing the dual-excitation property of nitrogen-doped carbon dots for the ratiometric determination and chemometric discrimination of flavonoids

A ratiometric fluorescence sensor has been established based on dual-excitation carbon dots (D-CDs) for the detection of flavonoids (morin is chosen as the typical detecting model for flavonoids). D-CDs were prepared using microwave radiation with o-phenylenediamine and melamine and exhibit controllable dual-excitation behavior through the regulation of their concentration. Remarkably, the short-wavelength excitation of D-CDs can be quenched by morin owing to the inner filter effect, while the long-wavelength excitation remains insensitive, serving as the reference signal. This contributes to the successful design of an excitation-based ratiometric sensor. Based on the distinct and differentiated variation of excitation intensity, morin can be determined from 0.156 to 110 µM with a low detection limit of 0.156 µM. In addition, an intelligent and visually lateral flow sensing device is developed for the determination  of morin content in real samples with satisfying recoveries, which indicates the potential application for human health monitoring.

Catalytic oxidation of ibuprofen over bulk heterojunction photocatalysts based on conjugated donor-acceptor configured benzoselenadiazole molecule

The use of photocatalysts for acquiring direct photon energy from sunlight is a promising way to clean the environment, particularly the remediation of contaminants from water. In this work, firstly π-conjugated organic semiconductor configuring benzoselenadiazole, 4-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl) phenyl)-7-(5'-hexyl-[2,2'-bithiophen]-5-yl)-benzo [c] (Kümmerer, 2009; Chen et al., 2018; Randeep et al., 201) selenadiazole, abbreviated as (RTh-Se-F), was synthesized. The designed RTh-Se-F with an extended π-conjugation showed good optical properties in the visible region and estimated a low optical band gap of ∼2.02 eV . The molecular orbitals i.e. HOMO (-5.33 eV) and LUMO (-3.31 eV) for RTh-Se-F organic semiconductor were suitably aligned to energy levels of (Madhavan et al., 2010Madhavan et al., 2010)-Phenyl-C₇₁-butyric acid methyl esters (PC₇₁BM) which resulted in the broadening of absorption and covering of entire visible region. RTh-Se-F was integrated with varied weight percentages (wt %) of PC₇₁BM to obtain bulk heterojunction (BHJ) and applied as efficient visible light driven BHJ photocatalyst for an effective oxidation of ibuprofen. RTh-Se-F@PC₇₁BM (1:2, wt %) BHJ photocatalyst showed the superior ibuprofen degradation of ∼93% within 90 min under visible light illumination. The maximum degradation rate by BHJ photocatalyst might be accredited to the broadening of absorption capacity and improved lifetime of photogenerated electron-hole pairs which might be resulted from high absorption properties of RTh-Se-F organic semiconductor.

Modification of glassy carbon electrode with manganese cobalt oxide-cubic like structures incorporated graphitic carbon nitride sheets for the voltammetric determination of 2,4,6 -trichlorophenol

Novel cube-like transition metal oxide embedded on graphitic carbon nitride (MCO@GCN) formed a hybrid composite via hydrothermal assisted sonochemical synthesis. The synthesized composite was examined with various physical characterizations such as morphological SEM, EDX, XRD, and FT-IR spectroscopy. The electrocatalytic activity of MCO@GCN composite was further investigated when used  to modify a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The electrochemical sensor was investigated using modified MCO@GCN/GCE towards environmental pollutant 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) detection with at a potential of (+ 0.654 V vs Ag/AgCl) in pH-7. The structural features have favored a high charge transfer ratio with excellent conductivity which showed a low detection limit (LOD) of 0.0068 μM and sensitivity of 23.57 μA·μM^-1·cm^-2 comprising a wide linear working range of 0.01-1720 μM by using differential pulse voltammetry. Besides, the MCO@GCN/GCE displayed excellent selectivity , repeatability, reproducibility, storage, and operational stability. Notably, the proposed MCO@GCN/GCE was validated with different environmental samples (tap, river, and industrial water) with RSD 0.62-2.86% and 96.51-99.66% (n = 3) recovery.

Ultrasensitive detection of cytotoxic food preservative tert-butylhydroquinone using 3D cupric oxide nanoflowers embedded functionalized carbon nanotubes

Accurate detection of cytotoxic food preservative tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) has significant importance in maintaining food quality and safety. TBHQ is a chronic hazard to aquatic life and its use in applications involving direct human exposure and frequent release to environment makes its quantification critical to maintain safety. Hence, we report development of a sensitive electrochemical sensor for TBHQ determination at nanomolar level in commonly used edible oils and water sample. Novel cupric oxide (CuO) decorated amine functionalized carbon nanotubes (NH₂-CNTs) were prepared for development of TBHQ sensor. 3D CuO nanoflowers and NH₂-CNTs were synthesized using hydrothermal and ultrasound-assisted method respectively. Techniques such as SEM, elemental mapping, XRD, FTIR, micro Raman, XPS, EIS, and UV-Visible spectroscopy were taken to affirm significant characterizations of synthesized materials. We have observed outstanding electrocatalytic activity towards TBHQ detection using the sonochemically prepared nanocomposite modified screen printed carbon electrode (SPCE). The proposed sensor exhibited ultra-low detection limit at 3 nM and exceptional sensitivity at 37.7 μA μM^-1 cm^-2. Furthermore, TBHQ sensor showcased outstanding anti-interference, stability, reproducibility, and repeatability. The practical feasibility of TBHQ detection was validated using real sample analysis resulting in excellent recovery in the range 95.90-104.87% and a maximum RSD of mere 2.71%.

Ultrasound-assisted synthesis of 3D flower-like zinc oxide decorated fMWCNTs for sensitive detection of toxic environmental pollutant 4-nitrophenol

Sonochemical synthesis of functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (fMWCNTs) embellished 3D flower-like zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposite based novel electrochemical sensor for the detection of toxic environmental pollutant 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) is detailed in this paper. We have used laser-assisted synthesis technique in the development of 3D flower-like ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and ultrasonication method was employed in preparation of ZnO NPs@fMWCNTs nanocomposite using a high-intensity ultrasonic bath DC200H with power of 200 W/cm² and 40 KHz frequency. The nanocomposite was meticulously fabricated on screen printed carbon electrode (SPCE) to carry out various electrochemical analysis. Different characterizations such as Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, UV visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) of the materials used in this work were taken. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) techniques are used in electrochemical investigations. We have observed well-defined oxidation and reduction peak currents representing electrochemical mechanism of 4-NP at very low potentials for ZnO NPs@fMWCNTs/SPCE. Furthermore, we were able to achieve efficient electrochemical determination of 4-NP using the developed sensor with a high sensitivity of 11.44 μA μM^-1 cm^-2 and very low detection limit (LOD) of 0.013 μM in a broad linear range of 0.06-100 μM. All the significant features of a good sensor including anti-interference, good stability, excellent repeatability, and reproducibility were exhibited by the sensor. Moreover, we have tested practical feasibility of sensor by carrying out real sample analysis on different water samples.

Electrospun CNT embedded ZnO nanofiber based biosensor for electrochemical detection of Atrazine: a step closure to single molecule detection

In this study we have reported the design and development of a facile, sensitive, selective, and label-free electrochemical sensing platform for the detection of atrazine based on MWCNT-embedded ZnO nanofibers. Electrospun nanofibers were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS), UV-Visible spectroscope (UV-VIS), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscope (FTIR). Electrochemical properties of MWCNT-ZnO nanofiber-modified electrodes were assessed using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Binding event of atrazine to anti-atrazine antibody, which immobilized on nanofiber-modified electrode via EDC and NHS chemistry, was transduced with EIS. Due to high conductivity, surface area, and low bandgap of MWCNT-ZnO nanofibers, we have achieved the sensitivity and limit of detection (LoD) of sensor as 21.61 (KΩ μg^-1 mL^-1) cm^-2 and 5.368 zM for a wide detection range of 10 zM-1 µM. The proposed immunosensing platform has good stability, selectivity, repeatability, and reproducibility, and are less prone to interference.

Enhanced microwave absorption performance from abundant polarization sites of ZnO nanocrystals embedded in CNTs via confined space synthesis

Dielectric composites constructed using carbon and metal oxides have become a hot research topic; however, the strategy to strengthen the coupling of components still needs to be optimized to enhance dielectric loss. Herein, ultra-fine ZnO derived from ZIF-8 was uniformly distributed and tightly embedded in multi-wall carbon nanotubes (C-ZnO@CNTs) via a novel confined space synthesis. Due to the presence of a polypyrrole coating, ZnO nanocrystals could be formed in the space of the original polyhedron and inserted into the CNTs, promoting the generation of polarized CNTs and providing abundant polarization centers on the CNTs. The composites exhibited superior microwave absorption capacity with a reflection loss value of up to -48.2 dB at 6.0 GHz, and the effective bandwidth reached 14.9 GHz by adjusting their thickness. According to the geometric phase analysis, the strain driven by the tight-coupling between ZnO-CNTs was confirmed to exist in the interfaces, boosting their inherent electromagnetic properties. The improved dielectric loss was caused by the strong interfacial polarization among ZnO-ZnO or ZnO-CNTs and the conductive loss among intertwined CNTs network, as revealed by electron holography. Therefore, the overall electrical properties could be improved by the polarized C-ZnO@CNTs with high electron conductivity. The confined space strategy may have promising potential for the synthesis of new composites of polarized carbon materials tightly coupled with metal oxides nanocrystals.

Ecofriendly synthesized reduced graphene oxide embellished marsh marigold-like zinc oxide nanocomposite based on ultrasonication technique for the sensitive detection of environmental pollutant hydroquinone

A novel electrochemical sensor using reduced graphene oxide (RGO) decorated marsh marigold-like zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposite for the detection of hydroquinone (HQ) is detailed in this paper. We have adopted an ecofriendly preparation procedure for the synthesis of RGO and the synthesis of marsh marigold-like ZnO is carried out using aqueous solution method. The RGO/ZnO nanocomposite is prepared based on ultrasonication technique using a high-intensity ultrasonic bath DC200H (200 W/cm², 40 kHz) and is followed by its precise fabrication on glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Characterizations including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and UV visible spectroscopy of ZnO nanoparticles, RGO, and RGO/ZnO nanocomposite are analyzed in this work. Different electrochemical studies were performed in this work to investigate performance of the proposed electrochemical sensor and cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) techniques are used to achieve this. The oxidation and reduction peak currents of RGO/ZnO modified GCE exhibited sharp peaks at very low potential of 0.13 V and 0.06 V respectively. We have obtained a high sensitivity of 8.08 μA μM^-1 cm^-2, ultra-low limit of detection (LOD) value of 0.01 μM, and a broad linear range of 0.1-92 μM for the proposed sensor. Moreover, the fabricated sensor exhibited excellent selectivity, good reproducibility, stability, and repeatability revealing the high efficiency of the proposed sensor. Furthermore, experiments were conducted to examine the practical feasibility of the developed sensor. The electrochemical studies conducted as part of the work shows that RGO/ZnO nanocomposite is an apt material for the highly sensitive and efficient detection of HQ.

Simultaneous voltammetric determination of hydroquinone and catechol by using a glassy carbon electrode modified with a ternary nanocomposite prepared from oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes, manganese dioxide and manganese ferrite

An electrochemical sensor is described for simultaneous determination of hydroquinone (HQ) and catechol (CT) via differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). It is making use of a ternary composite material prepared from oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes, manganese dioxide (MnO₂) and manganese ferrite (MnFe₂O₄). The material was obtained by a one-step hydrothermal reaction and used to modify a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The composite was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The peak currents for HQ and CT are highest at 172 and 276 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) at a pH value of 6.0. Response increases linearly in the 1-400 μM HQ and CT concentration ranges, and the detection limits are 0.64 and 0.48 μM, respectively. The modified GCE is highly selective, repeatable and reproducible. A single sensor was used to make 23 subsequent measurements, and the relative standard deviations were 1.8% and 2.3% for HQ and CT, respectively. Graphical abstract Schematic representation of the preparation of ternary nanocomposite and its electrochemical behavior towards hydroquinone and catechol.

A flower-structured MoS2-decorated f-MWCNTs/ZnO hybrid nanocomposite-modified sensor for the selective electrochemical detection of vitamin C

We synthesized an MoS₂/f-MWCNTs/ZnO composite and successfully used it to prepare an electrochemical sensor for the selective detection of AA in blood serum samples.