Core-shell Ag@SiO(2) nanoparticles concentrated on a micro/nanofluidic device for surface plasmon resonance-enhanced fluorescent detection of highly reactive oxygen species.

A micro/nanofluidic device integrating a nanochannel in a microfluidic chip was developed for sensitive fluorescent determination of highly reactive oxygen species (hROS) enhanced by surface plasmon resonance-enhanced fluorescence (SPREF). The nanochannel was simply fabricated by polyaniline nanostructures modified on a glass slide. Core-shell Ag@SiO2 nanoparticles were concentrated in front of the nanochannel for fluorescence enhancement based on the SPREF effect. As a demonstration, hROS in the mainstream of cigarette smoke (CS) were detected by the present micro/nanofluidic device. The fluorescent probe for trapping hROS in puffs of CS employed a microcolumn that was loaded with a composite of DNA (conjugated fluorophores, FAM) and Au membrane (coated on cellulose acetate). With a laser-induced fluorescence detection device, hROS was determined on the basis of the amount of FAM groups generated by DNA cleavage. With the optimization of the trapping efficiency, we detected about 4.91 pmol of hROS/puff in the mainstream CS. This micro/nanofluidic-SPREF system promises a simple, rapid, and highly sensitive approach for determination of hROS in CS and other practical systems.

Conformational change and biocatalysis-triggered spectral shift of single Au nanoparticles.

Spectral shift of localized plasmon resonance scattering of guanine-rich DNA modified single Au nanoparticles is observed under a dark field microscope equipped with a spectrometer. The spectra continuously red-shift with the conformational change of the guanine-rich DNA upon associating with K(+), hemin and the biocatalytic growth of the polymer. The scattering spectrum of single nanoparticles is proved to be sensitive both to a subtle conformational change and the biocatalysis process. 20 mM K(+) or 100 µM H2O2 can trigger a detectable peak shift. The present study paves a new and efficient way to extract chemical information from micro/nanospace.