Ultrasensitive Sensor Using Quantum Dots-Doped Polystyrene Nanospheres for Clinical Diagnostics of Low-Volume Serum Samples.

Development of sensitive homogeneous assays is a high-priority research target for clinical diagnostics. Quantum dots (QDs) present favorable photophysical properties, which implies their potential as an exceptional dye in fluorescence detection. QDs-based biosensors have been described in the literature; however, few of them have truly progressed to widespread clinical usage. In this work, a chemiluminescent homogeneous detecting biosensor is fabricated using QDs-doped polystyrene nanospheres to sensitively detect biomarkers in low-volume serum samples. Phthalocyanine-dyed and QDs-encapsulated carboxylate-functionalized polystyrene nanospheres with surface carboxyl groups (PPs and QPs, respectively) were fabricated and served as triggers and fluorescent probes, respectively, in this biosensing system. In this sandwich-format immunoassay, the PPs produced singlet oxygen once sensitized by 680 nm diode lasers, and the QPs, conjugated with antibodies, and then reacted with the singlet oxygen in the presence of specific antigens and emitted anti-Stokes fluorescence with wavelengths around 605 nm, as a result of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) within the QPs. We demonstrated the determination of carcinoembryonic antigen as a model protein target in 25 µL of serum samples with an unprecedented detection limit of 2.56 × 10-13 M (46 pg/mL) using this biosensor. Furthermore, excellent correlations ( R2 = 0.99718, n = 107) were obtained between utilizing this biosensor and commercialized chemiluminescence immunoassay kits in clinical serum detection. These results demonstrate that our flexible and reliable biosensor is suitable for direct integration into clinical diagnostics, and it is expected to be a promising diagnostic tool for early detection and screening tests as well as prognosis evaluation for patients.

Simultaneous quantitation of cytokeratin-19 fragment and carcinoembryonic antigen in human serum via quantum dot-doped nanoparticles.

A novel quantum dot-doped polystyrene nanoparticles-based lateral flow test strips (QPs-LFTS) system was developed to simultaneously detect a cytokeratin-19 fragment (CYFRA 21-1) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in human serum to aid the diagnosis and prognosis of lung cancer. Quantum dot-doped carboxylate-functionalized polystyrene nanoparticles (QPs) were prepared and introduced as fluorescent reporters in QPs-LFTS. The detection was based on a sandwich immunoassay and performed on lateral flow test strips, with an assay time of 15min. The strips were read by a fluorescence strip reader to obtain the fluorescence peak heights of the test lines (HT) and the control line (HC). The ratio of HT/HC was used for quantitation. The QPs showed excellent photoproperties and good performance. Under optimal conditions, the QPs-LFTS system exhibited a wide linear range for CYFRA 21-1 (1.3-480ng/mL) and CEA (2.8-680ng/mL). The detection limits for CYFRA 21-1 and CEA were 0.16 and 0.35ng/mL, respectively. The recovery and reproducibility of the method were satisfactory. Furthermore, excellent correlations (n =120, R2 =0.9862, P<0.0001 for CYFRA 21-1; n =70, R2 =0.9509, P<0.0001 for CEA) were obtained between the QPs-LFTS and commercially available chemiluminescence immunoassay kits in clinical serum testing. The results indicate that this developed test system is highly efficient and is expected to be useful for early screening and prognosis evaluation for lung cancer patients.

Catalytic conversion of biomass pyrolysis-derived compounds with chemical liquid deposition (CLD) modified ZSM-5.

Chemical liquid deposition (CLD) with KH550, TEOS and methyl silicone oil as the modifiers was used to modify ZSM-5 and deposit its external acid sites. The characteristics of modified catalysts were tested by catalytic conversion of biomass pyrolysis-derived compounds. The effects of different modifying conditions (deposited amount, temperature, and time) on the product yields and selectivities were investigated. The results show KH550 modified ZSM-5 (deposited amount of 4%, temperature of 20°C and time of 6h) produced the maximum yields of aromatics (24.5%) and olefins (16.5%), which are much higher than that obtained with original ZSM-5 catalyst (18.8% aromatics and 9.8% olefins). The coke yield decreased from 44.1% with original ZSM-5 to 26.7% with KH550 modified ZSM-5. The selectivities of low-molecule-weight hydrocarbons (ethylene and benzene) decreased, while that of higher molecule-weight hydrocarbons (propylene, butylene, toluene, and naphthalene) increased comparing with original ZSM-5.