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12 pages, 2494 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sodium-Alginate-Functionalized Silver Nanoparticles for Colorimetric Detection of Dimethoate

by Feng-Zuo Zhou, Yung-Hsiang Chang, Cho-Chun Hu and Tai-Chia Chiu

Biosensors 2022, 12(12), 1086; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/bios12121086 - 28 Nov 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2275

Sodium alginate (SA) was used to functionalize the surfaces of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to form SA-AgNPs for sensing dimethoate with a rapid and sensitive visual readout. UV–Vis spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and zeta potential measurements were [...] Read more.

Sodium alginate (SA) was used to functionalize the surfaces of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to form SA-AgNPs for sensing dimethoate with a rapid and sensitive visual readout. UV–Vis spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and zeta potential measurements were used to characterize SA-AgNPs that were synthesized under the ideal conditions. SA-AgNPs were spherical with an average size of 14.6 nm. The stability of SA-AgNPs was investigated with changes in pH, salinity, and storage time. This colorimetric assay of dimethoate relied on the change in the absorption ratio (A₄₇₅/A₄₀₀) of SA-AgNPs, resulting in their aggregation caused by dimethoate, leading to a visual change for SA-AgNPs from yellow to pale yellow. As a result, the absorption ratio (A₄₇₅/A₄₀₀) of SA-AgNPs showed good linearity in the range of 0.05 to 2.0 ppm (R² = 0.9986) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 30 ppb. Adding other pesticides did not significantly change the absorption ratio of SA-AgNPs, indicating its high selectivity as a colorimetric assay. The sensor was successfully used to detect dimethoate in actual water samples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors in Food Analysis and Environmental Detection)

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17 pages, 2921 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fluorescence Sensors Based on Hydroxycarbazole for the Determination of Neurodegeneration-Related Halide Anions

by Víctor González-Ruiz, Ángel Cores, M. Mar Caja, Vellaisamy Sridharan, Mercedes Villacampa, M. Antonia Martín, Ana I. Olives and J. Carlos Menéndez

Biosensors 2022, 12(3), 175; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/bios12030175 - 14 Mar 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2466

Abstract

The environmental presence of anions of natural origin or anthropogenic origin is gradually increasing. As a tool to tackle this problem, carbazole derivatives are an attractive gateway to the development of luminescent chemosensors. Considering the different mechanisms proposed for anion recognition, the fluorescence [...] Read more.

The environmental presence of anions of natural origin or anthropogenic origin is gradually increasing. As a tool to tackle this problem, carbazole derivatives are an attractive gateway to the development of luminescent chemosensors. Considering the different mechanisms proposed for anion recognition, the fluorescence properties and anion-binding response of several newly synthesised carbazole derivatives were studied. Potential anion sensors were designed so that they combined the native fluorescence of carbazole with the presence of hydrogen bonding donor groups in critical positions for anion recognition. These compounds were synthesised by a feasible and non-expensive procedure using palladium-promoted cyclodehydrogenation of suitable diarylamine under microwave irradiation. In comparison to the other carbazole derivatives studied, 1-hydroxycarbazole proved to be useful as a fluorescent sensor for anions, as it was able to sensitively recognise fluoride and chloride anions by establishing hydrogen bond interactions through the hydrogen atoms on the pyrrolic nitrogen and the hydroxy group. Solvent effects and excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) of the carbazole derivatives are described to discard the role of the anions as Brönsted bases on the observed fluorescence behaviour of the sensors. The anion–sensor interaction was confirmed by ¹H-NMR. Molecular modelling was employed to propose a mode of recognition of the sensor in terms of complex stability and interatomic distances. 1-hydroxycarbazole was employed for the quantitation of fluoride and chloride anions in commercially available medicinal spring water and mouthwash samples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors in Food Analysis and Environmental Detection)

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15 pages, 3631 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ratiometric Colorimetric Detection of Nitrite Realized by Stringing Nanozyme Catalysis and Diazotization Together

by Mengzhu Wang, Peng Liu, Hengjia Zhu, Bangxiang Liu and Xiangheng Niu

Biosensors 2021, 11(8), 280; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/bios11080280 - 18 Aug 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3434

Abstract

Due to the great threat posed by excessive nitrite in food and drinking water to human health, it calls for developing reliable, convenient, and low-cost methods for nitrite detection. Herein, we string nanozyme catalysis and diazotization together and develop a ratiometric colorimetric approach [...] Read more.

Due to the great threat posed by excessive nitrite in food and drinking water to human health, it calls for developing reliable, convenient, and low-cost methods for nitrite detection. Herein, we string nanozyme catalysis and diazotization together and develop a ratiometric colorimetric approach for sensing nitrite in food. First, hollow MnFeO (a mixture of Mn and Fe oxides with different oxidation states) derived from a Mn-Fe Prussian blue analogue is explored as an oxidase mimic with high efficiency in catalyzing the colorless 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) oxidation to blue TMBox, presenting a notable signal at 652 nm. Then, nitrite is able to trigger the diazotization of the product TMBox, not only decreasing the signal at 652 nm but also producing a new signal at 445 nm. Thus, the analyte-induced reverse changes of the two signals enable us to establish a ratiometric colorimetric assay for nitrite analysis. According to the above strategy, facile determination of nitrite in the range of 3.3–133.3 μM with good specificity was realized, providing a detection limit down to 0.2 μM. Compared with conventional single-signal analysis, our dual-signal ratiometric colorimetric mode was demonstrated to offer higher sensitivity, a lower detection limit, and better anti-interference ability against external detection environments. Practical applications of the approach in examining nitrite in food matrices were also verified. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors in Food Analysis and Environmental Detection)

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13 pages, 5966 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Ce-MOF with Intrinsic Haloperoxidase-Like Activity for Ratiometric Colorimetric Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide

by Yanyan Cheng, Ling Liang, Fanggui Ye and Shulin Zhao

Biosensors 2021, 11(7), 204; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/bios11070204 - 23 Jun 2021

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3839

Abstract

Metal–organic framework (MOF) nanozymes, as emerging members of the nanozymes, have received more and more attention due to their composition and structural characteristics. In this work, we report that mixed-valence state Ce-MOF (MVCM) has intrinsic haloperoxidase-mimicking activity. MVCM was synthesized by partial oxidation [...] Read more.

Metal–organic framework (MOF) nanozymes, as emerging members of the nanozymes, have received more and more attention due to their composition and structural characteristics. In this work, we report that mixed-valence state Ce-MOF (MVCM) has intrinsic haloperoxidase-mimicking activity. MVCM was synthesized by partial oxidation method using Ce-MOF as a precursor. In the presence of H₂O₂ and Br⁻, MVCM can catalyze oxidative bromination of chromogenic substrate phenol red (PR) to produce the blue product bromophenol blue (Br₄PR), showing good haloperoxidase-like activity. Because of the special chromogenic substrate, we constructed a ratiometric colorimetric-sensing platform by detecting the absorbance of the MVCM-(PR, Br⁻) system at wavelengths of 590 and 430, for quantifying H₂O₂, where the detection limit of the H₂O₂ is 3.25 μM. In addition, the haloperoxidase-mimicking mechanism of the MVCM is proposed. Moreover, through enzyme kinetics monitoring, the K_m (H₂O₂ and NH₄Br) of the MVCM is lower than that of cerium oxide nanomaterials, indicating that the MVCM has a stronger binding affinity for H₂O₂ and NH₄Br than other materials. This work provides more application prospects for the development of nanozymes in the field of biosensors in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors in Food Analysis and Environmental Detection)

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Review

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21 pages, 4869 KiB

Open AccessReview

Nanozymes with Multiple Activities: Prospects in Analytical Sensing

by Xiangheng Niu, Bangxiang Liu, Panwang Hu, Hengjia Zhu and Mengzhu Wang

Biosensors 2022, 12(4), 251; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/bios12040251 - 16 Apr 2022

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4312

Abstract

Given the superiorities in catalytic stability, production cost and performance tunability over natural bio-enzymes, artificial nanomaterials featuring enzyme-like characteristics (nanozymes) have drawn extensive attention from the academic community in the past decade. With these merits, they are intensively tested for sensing, biomedicine and [...] Read more.

Given the superiorities in catalytic stability, production cost and performance tunability over natural bio-enzymes, artificial nanomaterials featuring enzyme-like characteristics (nanozymes) have drawn extensive attention from the academic community in the past decade. With these merits, they are intensively tested for sensing, biomedicine and environmental engineering. Especially in the analytical sensing field, enzyme mimics have found wide use for biochemical detection, environmental monitoring and food analysis. More fascinatingly, rational design enables one fabrication of enzyme-like materials with versatile activities, which show great promise for further advancement of the nanozyme-involved biochemical sensing field. To understand the progress in such an exciting field, here we offer a review of nanozymes with multiple catalytic activities and their analytical application prospects. The main types of enzyme-mimetic activities are first introduced, followed by a summary of current strategies that can be employed to design multi-activity nanozymes. In particular, typical materials with at least two enzyme-like activities are reviewed. Finally, opportunities for multi-activity nanozymes applied in the sensing field are discussed, and potential challenges are also presented, to better guide the development of analytical methods and sensors using nanozymes with different catalytic features. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors in Food Analysis and Environmental Detection)

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27 pages, 2406 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Progress of Fluorescence Sensors for Histamine in Foods

by Gan Wu, Xilin Dou, Dapeng Li, Shihan Xu, Jicheng Zhang, Zhaoyang Ding and Jing Xie

Biosensors 2022, 12(3), 161; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/bios12030161 - 04 Mar 2022

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 6407

Abstract

Biological amines are organic nitrogen compounds that can be produced by the decomposition of spoiled food. As an important biological amine, histamine has played an important role in food safety. Many methods have been used to detect histamine in foods. Compared with traditional [...] Read more.

Biological amines are organic nitrogen compounds that can be produced by the decomposition of spoiled food. As an important biological amine, histamine has played an important role in food safety. Many methods have been used to detect histamine in foods. Compared with traditional analysis methods, fluorescence sensors as an adaptable detection tool for histamine in foods have the advantages of low cost, convenience, less operation, high sensitivity, and good visibility. In terms of food safety, fluorescence sensors have shown great utilization potential. In this review, we will introduce the applications and development of fluorescence sensors in food safety based on various types of materials. The performance and effectiveness of the fluorescence sensors are discussed in detail regarding their structure, luminescence mechanism, and recognition mechanism. This review may contribute to the exploration of the application of fluorescence sensors in food-related work. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors in Food Analysis and Environmental Detection)

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21 pages, 4222 KiB

Open AccessReview

Synthesis of Copper Nanocluster and Its Application in Pollutant Analysis

by Yan Xue, Zehua Cheng, Mai Luo, Hao Hu and Chenglai Xia

Biosensors 2021, 11(11), 424; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/bios11110424 - 28 Oct 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3329

Abstract

Copper nanoclusters (Cu NCs) with their inherent optical and chemical advantages have gained increasing attention as a kind of novel material that possesses great potential, primarily in the use of contaminants sensing and bio-imaging. With a focus on environmental safety, this article comprehensively [...] Read more.

Copper nanoclusters (Cu NCs) with their inherent optical and chemical advantages have gained increasing attention as a kind of novel material that possesses great potential, primarily in the use of contaminants sensing and bio-imaging. With a focus on environmental safety, this article comprehensively reviews the recent advances of Cu NCs in the application of various contaminants, including pesticide residues, heavy metal ions, sulfide ions and nitroaromatics. The common preparation methods and sensing mechanisms are summarized. The typical high-quality sensing probes based on Cu NCs towards various target contaminants are presented; additionally, the challenges and future perspectives in the development and application of Cu NCs in monitoring and analyzing environmental pollutants are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors in Food Analysis and Environmental Detection)

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21 pages, 2703 KiB

Open AccessReview

Nanozyme-Participated Biosensing of Pesticides and Cholinesterases: A Critical Review

by Hengjia Zhu, Peng Liu, Lizhang Xu, Xin Li, Panwang Hu, Bangxiang Liu, Jianming Pan, Fu Yang and Xiangheng Niu

Biosensors 2021, 11(10), 382; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/bios11100382 - 09 Oct 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3972

Abstract

To improve the output and quality of agricultural products, pesticides are globally utilized as an efficient tool to protect crops from insects. However, given that most pesticides used are difficult to decompose, they inevitably remain in agricultural products and are further enriched into [...] Read more.

To improve the output and quality of agricultural products, pesticides are globally utilized as an efficient tool to protect crops from insects. However, given that most pesticides used are difficult to decompose, they inevitably remain in agricultural products and are further enriched into food chains and ecosystems, posing great threats to human health and the environment. Thus, developing efficient methods and tools to monitor pesticide residues and related biomarkers (acetylcholinesterase and butylcholinesterase) became quite significant. With the advantages of excellent stability, tailorable catalytic performance, low cost, and easy mass production, nanomaterials with enzyme-like properties (nanozymes) are extensively utilized in fields ranging from biomedicine to environmental remediation. Especially, with the catalytic nature to offer amplified signals for highly sensitive detection, nanozymes were finding potential applications in the sensing of various analytes, including pesticides and their biomarkers. To highlight the progress in this field, here the sensing principles of pesticides and cholinesterases based on nanozyme catalysis are definitively summarized, and emerging detection methods and technologies with the participation of nanozymes are critically discussed. Importantly, typical examples are introduced to reveal the promising use of nanozymes. Also, some challenges in the field and future trends are proposed, with the hope of inspiring more efforts to advance nanozyme-involved sensors for pesticides and cholinesterases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors in Food Analysis and Environmental Detection)

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