Sophorajaponica L. flower mediated carbon dots with nitrogen and sulfur co-doped as a sensitive fluorescent probe for amoxicillin detection.

This article first reported the green synthesis of N, S co-doped fluorescent carbon dots (N, S-CDs-Sop) and sought to establish the fluorescence detection system for amoxicillin (AMX). By using Sophorajaponica L. flower as the green precursor and dl-homocystine as the co-dopant, N, S-CDs-Sop were successfully prepared via a one-pot hydrothermal method, exhibiting good water solubility and excellent photoluminescence. It was revealed that the surface of N, S-CDs-Sop was abundant in amino, hydroxyl and carboxyl groups after being characterized by a variety of techniques. When Fe3+ was added, Fe3+ could be complexed with N, S-CDs-Sop to from N, S-CDs-Sop-Fe3+ chelation leading to a significant static quenching of fluorescence. However, when N, S-CDs-Sop, Fe3+ and AMX coexisted, AMX would coordinate with Fe3+ and form the strong chelate due to the favorable chemical structure, resulting in the rapid fluorescence recovery. Such a fast, simple and sensitive fluorescence "off-on" strategy with a low LOD and a relatively wide range was successfully applied to the detection of AMX, which is closely correlated with human health.

α-Glucosidase immobilization on polydopamine-coated cellulose filter paper and enzyme inhibitor screening.

Immobilized enzyme has been gradually applied to the screening of enzyme inhibitors owing to its retained catalytic activity and reusability. In this work, the cheap and available cellulose filter paper (CFP) was used as a carrier for the immobilization of α-glucosidase (α-Glu). In virtue of the self-polymerization-adhesion behavior of dopamine, CFP was coated with a polydopamine composite layer and then α-glucosidase is covalently bound to the modified CFP through Schiff base reaction and Michael addition reaction. Combined with capillary electrophoresis (CE) analysis, enzyme reaction kinetics, inhibition kinetics and other performance of the prepared immobilized enzyme (CFP/Dopa/α-Glu) were examined and verified. Its Michaelis constant (Km) was calculated to be 0.83 mM. And the inhibition constant (Ki) and half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) for acarbose were determined to be 0.16 and 0.17 µM, respectively. CFP/Dopa/α-Glu had the same optimum working pH value (7.0) as free α-Glu and slightly higher working temperature (65 °C) than free α-Glu. In addition, it exhibited good batch-to-batch reproducibility with an RSD value of 4.4% (n = 10), and excellent reusability with 71% of the initial enzyme activity after being recycled 11 times. Finally, the CFP/Dopa/α-Glu was applied to screen α-glucosidase inhibitors from 11 traditional Chinese medicines, and Terminalia chebula possessed the strongest inhibition effect on α-glucosidase.

Enantiomers Recognition of Propranolol Based on Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Open-Tubular MIPs-CEC Column Using 3-(Trimethoxysilyl)Propyl Methacrylate as a Cross-Linking Monomer.

In this study, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (γ-MPS), a bifunctional group compound, was used as a single cross-linking agent to prepare molecular imprinted inorganic-organic hybrid polymers by in situ polymerization for open-tubular capillary electro chromatography (CEC) column. The optimal preparation conditions were: the ratio between template molecule and functional monomer was 1:4; the volume proportion of porogen toluene and methanol was 1:1 and the volume of cross-linking agent γ-MPS was 69 µL. The optimal separation conditions were separation voltage of 15 kV; detection wavelength at 215 nm and background electrolyte composed of 70% acetonitrile/20 mmol/L boric acid salt (pH 6.9). Under the optimized conditions, the propranolol enantiomers can be separated well by CEC. The method is simple and fast, it can be a potentially useful approach for propranolol enantiomers separation.

In Situ Enzymatically Generated Photoswitchable Oxidase Mimetics and Their Application for Colorimetric Detection of Glucose Oxidase.

In this study, a simple and amplified colorimetric assay is developed for the detection of the enzymatic activity of glucose oxidase (GOx) based on in situ formation of a photoswitchable oxidase mimetic of PO4(3-)-capped CdS quantum dots (QDs). GOx catalyzes the oxidation of 1-thio-ß-d-glucose to give 1-thio-ß-d-gluconic acid which spontaneously hydrolyzes to ß-d-gluconic acid and H2S; the generated H2S instantly reacts with Cd(2+) in the presence of Na3PO4 to give PO4(3-)-stabilized CdS QDs in situ. Under visible-light (λ ≥ 400 nm) stimulation, the PO4(3-)-capped CdS QDs are a new style of oxidase mimic derived by producing some active species, such as h⁺, (•)OH, O2(•-) and a little H2O2, which can oxidize the typical substrate (3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzydine (TMB)) with a color change. Based on the GOx-triggered growth of the oxidase mimetics of PO4(3-)-capped CdS QDs in situ, we developed a simple and amplified colorimetric assay to probe the enzymatic activity of GOx. The proposed method allowed the detection of the enzymatic activity of GOx over the range from 25 µg/L to 50 mg/L with a low detection limit of 6.6 µg/L. We believe the PO4(3-)-capped CdS QDs generated in situ with photo-stimulated enzyme-mimicking activity may find wide potential applications in biosensors.

Versatile and Amplified Biosensing through Enzymatic Cascade Reaction by Coupling Alkaline Phosphatase in Situ Generation of Photoresponsive Nanozyme.

The alkaline phosphatase (ALP) biocatalysis followed by the in situ enzymatic generation of a visible light responsive nanozyme is coupled to elucidate a novel amplification strategy by enzymatic cascade reaction for versatile biosensing. The enzymatic hydrolysis of o-phosphonoxyphenol (OPP) to catechol (CA) by ALP is allowed to coordinate on the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) due to the specificity and high affinity of enediol ligands to Ti(IV). Upon the stimuli by CA generated from ALP, the inert TiO2 NPs is activated, which demonstrates highly efficient oxidase mimicking activity for catalyzing the oxidation of the typical substrate of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) under visible light (λ ≥ 400 nm) irradiation utilizing dissolved oxygen as an electron acceptor. On the basis of the cascade reaction of ALP and the nanozyme of CA coordinated TiO2 (TiO2-CA) NPs, we design exquisitely colorimetric biosensors for probing ALP activity and its inhibitor of 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-DA). Quantitative probing of ALP activity in a wide linear range from 0.01 to 150 U/L with the detection limit of 0.002 U/L is realized, which endows the methodology with sufficiently high sensitivity for potentially practical applications in real samples of human serum (ALP level of 40-190 U/L for adults). In addition, a novel immunoassay protocol by taking mouse IgG as an example is validated using the ALP/nanozyme cascade amplification reaction as the signal transducer. A low detection limit of 2.0 pg/mL is attained for mouse IgG, which is 4500-fold lower than that of the standard enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Although only mouse IgG is used as a proof-of-concept in our experiment, we believe that this approach is generalizable to be readily extended to other ELISA systems. This methodology opens a new horizon for amplified and versatile biosensing including probing ALP activity and following ALP-based ELISA immunoassays.

Label-free colorimetric sensor for mercury(II) and DNA on the basis of mercury(II) switched-on the oxidase-mimicking activity of silver nanoclusters.

In this paper, a novel colorimetric biosensor for Hg(2+) and DNA molecules is presented based on Hg(2+) stimulated oxidase-like activity of bovine serum albumin protected silver clusters (BSA-Ag NCs). Under mild conditions, Hg(2+) activated BSA-Ag NCs to show high catalytic activity toward the oxidation of 3,3',5, 5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) using ambient dissolved oxygen as an oxidant. The oxidase-like activity of BSA-Ag NCs was "switched-on" selectively in the presence of Hg(2+), which permitted a novel and facile colorimetric sensor for Hg(2+). As low as 25 nmol L(-1)Hg(2+) could be detected with a linear range from 80 nmol L(-1) to 50 mmol L(-1). In addition, the sensing strategy was also employed to detect DNA molecules. Hg(2+) is known to bind very strongly and specifically with two DNA thymine bases (T) to form thymine-Hg(2+)-thymine (T-Hg(2+)-T) base pairs. The hairpin-structure was disrupted and Hg(2+) ions were released after hybridization with the DNA target. By coupling the Hg(2+) switched-on the oxidase-mimicking activity of BSA-Ag NCs, we developed a novel label-free strategy for facile and fast colorimetric detection of DNA molecules. More important, target DNA can be detected as low as 10 nmol L(-1) with a linear range from 30 to 225 nmol L(-1). Compared with other methods, this method presents several advantages such as the independence of hydrogen peroxide, high sensitivity and good selectivity, avoiding any modification or immobilization of DNA, which holds a great potential of metal NCs for clinical application in biosensing and biotechnology.

Using G-quadruplex/hemin to "switch-on" the cathodic photocurrent of p-type PbS quantum dots: toward a versatile platform for photoelectrochemical aptasensing.

We present a novel photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensing platform by taking advantage of the phenomenon that hemin intercalated in G-quadruplex "switched-on" the cathode photocurrent of p-type PbS quantum dots (QDs). Photoinduced electron transfer between PbS QDs and G-quadruplex/hemin(III) complexes with the subsequent catalytic oxygen reduction by the reduced G-quadruplex/hemin(II) led to an obvious enhancement in the cathodic photocurrent of the PbS QDs. For the detection process, in the presence of hemin, the specific recognition of the targets with the sensing sequence would trigger the formation of a stable G-quadruplex/hemin complex, which will result in reduced charge recombination and hence amplified photocurrent intensity of the PbS QDs. By using different target sequences, the developed system made possible a novel, label-free "switch-on" PEC aptasensor toward versatile biomolecular targets such as DNA and thrombin. Especially, with ambient oxygen to regenerate G-quadruplex/hemin(II) to G-quadruplex/hemin(III), this substrate-free strategy not only promoted the photoelectric effect and thus the enhanced sensitivity of the system, but also avoided the addition of supplementary substrates of G-quadruplex/hemin such as H2O2 and organic substances.

A novel photoelectrochemical sensor based on photocathode of PbS quantum dots utilizing catalase mimetics of bio-bar-coded platinum nanoparticles/G-quadruplex/hemin for signal amplification.

Photocathode based on p-type PbS quantum dots (QDs) combing a novel signal amplification strategy utilizing catalase (CAT) mimetics was designed and utilized for sensitive photoelectrochemical (PEC) detection of DNA. The bio-bar-coded Pt nanoparticles (NPs)/G-quadruplex/hemin exhibited high CAT-like activity following the Michaelis-Menten model for decomposing H2O2 to water and oxygen, whose activity even slightly exceeded that of natural CAT. The bio-bar-code as a catalytic label was conjugated onto the surface of PbS QDs modified electrodes through the formed sandwich-type structure due to DNA hybridization. Oxygen in situ generated by the CAT mimetics of the bio-bar-code of Pt NPs/G-quadruplex/hemin acted as an efficient electron acceptor of illuminated PbS QDs, promoting charge separation and enhancing cathodic photocurrent. Under optimal conditions, the developed PEC biosensor for target DNA exhibited a dynamic range of 0.2pmol/L to 1.0nmol/L with a low detection limit of 0.08pmol/L. The high sensitivity of the method was resulted from the sensitive response of PbS QDs to oxygen and the highly efficient CAT-like catalytic activity of the bio-bar-coded Pt NPs/G-quadruplex/hemin.

Intrinsic enzyme mimicking activity of gold nanoclusters upon visible light triggering and its application for colorimetric trypsin detection.

In this research, a novel enzyme mimetics based on the photochemical property of gold nanoclusters was demonstrated. It was found that the bovine serum albumin (BSA) stabilized red or blue emitting gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) exhibited enzyme-like activity under visible light irradiation. The BSA-Au NCs had better stability against stringent conditions compared to natural enzyme. In addition, the photostimulated enzyme mimetics of BSA-Au NCs showed several unprecedented advantages over natural peroxidase or other existing alternatives based on nanomaterials, such as the independence of hydrogen peroxide on activity and the easily regulated activity by light irradiation. The mechanism of the photoresponsive enzyme-like activity of BSA-Au NCs was investigated. The photoactivated BSA-Au NCs was designed to develop a facile, cheap, and rapid colorimetric assay to detect trypsin through trypsin digestion of the protein template of BSA-stabilized Au NCs. The limit of detection for trypsin was 0.6 µg/mL, which was much lower than the average level of trypsin in patient's urine or serum.

An ultrasensitive and universal photoelectrochemical immunoassay based on enzyme mimetics enhanced signal amplification.

An ultrasensitive photoelectrochemical (PEC) immunoassay based on signal amplification by enzyme mimetics was fabricated for the detection of mouse IgG (as a model protein). The PEC immunosensor was constructed by a layer-by-layer assembly of poly (diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA), CdS quantum dots (QDs), primary antibody (Ab1, polyclonal goat antimouse IgG), and the antigen (Ag, mouse IgG) on an indium-tin oxide (ITO) electrode. Then, the secondary antibody (Ab2, polyclonal goat antimouse IgG) combined to a bio-bar-coded Pt nanoparticle(NP)-G-quadruplex/hemin probe was used for signal amplification. The bio-bar-coded Pt NP-G-quadruplex/hemin probe could catalyze the oxidation of hydroquinone (HQ) using H2O2 as an oxidant, demonstrating its intrinsic enzyme-like activity. High sensitivity for the target Ag was achieved by using the bio-bar-coded probe as signal amplifier due to its high catalytic activity, a competitive nonproductive absorption of hemin and the steric hindrance caused by the polymeric oxidation products of HQ. For most important, the oxidation product of HQ acted as an efficient electron acceptor of the illuminated CdS QDs. The target Ag could be detected from 0.01pg/mL to 1.0ng/mL with a low detection limit of 6.0fg/mL. The as-obtained immunosensor exhibited high sensitivity, good stability and acceptable reproducibility. This method might be attractive for clinical and biomedical applications.

A novel micellar per aqueous liquid chromatographic method for simultaneous determination of diltiazem hydrochloride, metoprolol tartrate and isosorbide mononitrate in human serum.

A novel micellar per aqueous liquid chromatographic method was investigated to simultaneously determine diltiazem hydrochloride, metoprolol tartrate and isosorbide mononitrate in human serum. Separation and determination of the analytes were performed on a Pinnacle II Cyano column as the stationary phase using the mobile phase consisted of aqueous solution (4.15×10(-2) mol/L sodium dodecyl sulfate and 0.02 mol/L sodium dihydrogen phosphate) with 10% (v/v) of 1-propanol at pH 7.0. This method was validated by linearity, lower limit of quantification, extraction recovery, stability, precision, and accuracy. The main analytical parameters were linearity (r>0.9950), intra- and inter-day precisions (intra-day RSD 2.2-3.5%, and inter-day RSD 3.7-9.5%), lower limit of quantification (20 ng mL(-1) for isosorbide mononitrate, metoprolol tartrate and diltiazem hydrochloride). The extraction recovery was 63.3% (0.1 µg/mL), 65.6% (1.0 µg/mL), and 69.5% (25 µg/mL) for isosorbide mononitrate; 65.1% (0.1 µg/mL), 69.5% (1.0 µg mL) and 73.5% (2.5 µg/mL) for metoprolol tartrate; 67.1% (0.1 µg/mL), 68.8% (1.0 µg/mL) and 73.8 % (2.5 µg/mL) for diltiazem hydrochloride. The relative error of stability was <6.4% at the room temperature for 24h, <3.8% at 4 °C for 1 week, <4.6% at -20 °C for 1 month, and <6.7% for freeze/thaw cycles (n=3). The results indicated that the proposed method was rapid, sensitive, and accurate for determination of the three antianginal drugs in human serum. The possible separation mechanism of the method was also discussed, and a model of separation mechanism for the analytes was established.

A new approach to light up the application of semiconductor nanomaterials for photoelectrochemical biosensors: using self-operating photocathode as a highly selective enzyme sensor.

Due to the intrinsic hole oxidation reaction occurred on the photoanode surface, currently developed photoelectrochemical biosensors suffer from the interference from coexisting reductive species (acting as electron donor) and a novel design strategy of photoelectrode for photoelectrochemical detection is urgently required. In this paper, a self-operating photocathode based on CdS quantum dots sensitized three-dimensional (3D) nanoporous NiO was designed and created, which showed highly selective and reversible response to dissolved oxygen (acting as electron acceptor) in the electrolyte solution. Using glucose oxidase (GOD) as a biocatalyst, a novel photoelectrochemical sensor for glucose was developed. The commonly encountered interferents such as H2O2, ascorbic acid (AA), cysteine (Cys), dopamine (DA), etc., almost had no effect for the cathodic photocurrent of the 3D NiO/CdS electrode, though these substances were proved to greatly influence the photocurrent of photoanodes, which indicated greatly improved selectivity of the method. The method was applied to detect glucose in real samples including serum and glucose injections with satisfactory results. This study could provide a new train of thought on designing of self-operating photocathode in photoelectrochemical sensing, promoting the application of semiconductor nanomaterials in photoelectrochemistry.

In situ formation of p-n junction: a novel principle for photoelectrochemical sensor and its application for mercury(II) ion detection.

The discovery and development of photoelectrochemical sensors with novel principles are of great significance to realize sensitive and low-cost detection. In this paper, a new photoelectrochemial sensor based on the in situ formation of p-n junction was designed and used for the accurate determination of mercury(II) ions. Cysteine-capped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) was assembled on the surface of indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode based on the electrostatic interaction between Poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and Cys-capped ZnS QDs. The in situ formation of HgS, a p-type semiconductor, on the surface of ZnS facilitated the charge carrier transport and promoted electron-hole separation, triggered an obviously enhanced anodic photocurrent of Cys-capped ZnS QDs. The formation of p-n junction was confirmed by P-N conductive type discriminator measurements and current-voltage (I-V) curves. The photoelectrochemical method was used for the sensing of trace mercuric (II) ions with a linear concentration of 0.01 to 10.0 µM and a detection limit of 4.6×10(-9)mol/L. It is expected that the present study can serve as a foundation to the application of p-n heterojunction to photoelectrochemical sensors and it might be easily extended to more exciting sensing systems by photoelectrochemistry.

Dual responsive enzyme mimicking activity of AgX (X=Cl, Br, I) nanoparticles and its application for cancer cell detection.

Chitosan (CS) modified silver halide (AgX, X=Cl, Br, I) (CS-AgX) nanoparticles (NPs) were found to possess dual responsive enzyme mimetic activities. In the presence of H2O2, they were able to oxidize various colorimertic dyes, namely, peroxidase-like activity. Upon photoactivation, CS-AgX NPs could also oxidize the typical substrates in the absence of H2O2. Taking CS-AgI as an example, it was found that the photostimulated enzyme mimetics of CS-AgI NPs showed several unprecedented advantages over natural peroxidase or other existing alternatives based on nanomaterials, such as excellent enzyme-like activity over a broad pH range (3.0-7.0), the independence of hydrogen peroxide on activity, the easily regulated activity by light irradiation, and the good reutilization without significant loss of catalytic activity. The mechanism of the dual responsive enzyme-like activity of CS-AgI was investigated. On the basis of these findings, the photoactivated CS-AgI was designed to develop a facile, cheap, rapid, and highly sensitive colorimetric assay to detect cancer cells. The detection limit of the method for MDA-MB-231 was estimated to be as low as 100 cells, which was much lower than that reported by the method using peroxidase mimetics based on nanomaterials. We believe that CS-AgX NPs with dual responsive enzyme-mimicking activity, especially the excellent photostimulated enzyme-like activity, may find widely potential applications in biosensors.

The pH-dependent interaction of silver nanoparticles and hydrogen peroxide: a new platform for visual detection of iodide with ultra-sensitivity.

Considering the significance and urgency for the recognition and sensing of anions specifically, especially those of biological relevance, herein, a simple and reliable colorimetric iodide sensor that based on pH-dependent interaction of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and H2O2 was developed. In acidic medium, AgNPs reacted with H2O2 to produce Ag(+) and powerful oxidizing species. The powerful oxidizing species could etch AgNPs seriously. While, iodide acted as an antioxidant could protect AgNPs from oxidation-etching by the powerful oxidizing species. In neutral and alkaline medium, the reaction of AgNPs and H2O2 mainly produce Ag(+). The existence of iodide could complex with Ag(+), forming AgI, which paved the way for aggregation of AgNPs. Based on the different responses of iodide to these different products of the reaction between H2O2 and AgNPs in solutions with different pH, iodide with concentrations down to 1 nM in acidic medium, 6 nM in neutral medium, and 100 nM in alkaline medium could be detected by naked-eye. More importantly, urinary iodide had been detected successfully. This simple and speedy method, which also exhibited remarkable selectivity and outstanding sensitivity, not only innovated the field of iodide recognition but also opened up a novel insight of the application of AgNPs.

Site-specific separation and detection of phosphopeptide isomers with pH-mediated stacking capillary electrophoresis-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry.

This study reported a pH-mediated stacking CE coupled with ESI MS/MS method to determine the phosphorylation sites of three synthetic phosphopeptides containing structural isomers. These phosphopeptides mimic the phosphopeptides (amino acid residues 12-25) derived from the trypsin-digested products of human lamin A/C protein. The LODs were determined to be 118, 132 and 1240 fmol for SGAQASS(19)TpPL(22)SPTR, SGAQASS(19)TPL(22)SpPTR, and SGAQASS(19)TpPL(22)SpPTR, respectively. The established method was employed to analyze the phosphorylation sites of the trypsin-digested products of glutathione S-transferase-lamin A/C (1-57) fusion protein that had been phosphorylated in vitro by cyclin-dependent kinase 1. The results indicated that this method is feasible to specifically determine the phosphorylation site from phosphopeptide isomers in the trypsin-digested products of a kinase-catalyzed phosphoprotein, which should benefit the investigation of protein kinase-mediated cellular signal transduction.

Novel switchable sensor for phosphate based on the distance-dependant fluorescence coupling of cysteine-capped cadmium sulfide quantum dots and silver nanoparticles.

A novel switchable sensor was developed for the determination of phosphate based on Ce(3+) induced aggregation and phosphate triggered disaggregation of cysteine (Cys)-capped CdS quantum dots (QDs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The rare earth metal Ce(3+) could aggregate a mixture of QDs and AgNPs, which induced electron or energy transfer between CdS QDs and AgNPs and serious fluorescence quenching. However, phosphate dissociated the formed aggregation of CdS QDs and AgNPs, restoring the enhanced fluorescence of Cys-capped CdS triggered by AgNPs. Although, CdS QDs alone could also be used to detect phosphate through the aggregation-disaggregation mechanism adjusted by Ce(3+) and phosphate. It was found that the distance-dependent interaction between AgNPs and CdS QDs driven by Ce(3+) and phosphate could lead to enhanced quenching or enhancement of the fluorescence of Cys-capped CdS to form a more sensitive detection system for phosphate. The developed method was applied in the detection of phosphate in real water samples with acceptable and satisfactory results.

"Oxidative etching-aggregation" of silver nanoparticles by melamine and electron acceptors: an innovative route toward ultrasensitive and versatile functional colorimetric sensors.

An innovative and versatile functional colorimetric sensor for melamine (MA) and H(2)O(2) was developed with simplicity, excellent selectivity and ultrasensitivity. The detection mechanism was based on the "oxidative etching-aggregation" of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by the cooperation effect of MA and electron acceptors such as H(2)O(2), ozone or Fe(NO(3))(3). The detection limits of this method for MA could reach as low as 0.08 nM, 0.16 nM and 3 nM when H(2)O(2), ozone or Fe(NO(3))(3) was used as an electron acceptor, respectively. When using H(2)O(2) as a typical electron acceptor, the method enabled the detection of H(2)O(2) with a detection limit of 0.2 nM. This proposed method offered a new way to design MA and H(2)O(2) sensors and might be easily extended to detect other nucleophilic reagents and electron acceptors based on colorimetric sensors.

Enhanced fluorescence sensing of melamine based on thioglycolic acid-capped CdS quantum dots.

A sensitive and simple method for the determination of melamine (MA) was developed based on the fluorescence enhancement effect of MA for thioglycolic acid-capped (TGA-capped) CdS quantum dots (QDs). Under optimum conditions, a good linear relationship was obtained from 2.0 × 10(-9) to 5.0 × 10(-5)M. The detection limit was 1.0 × 10(-9)M, which was much lower than the safety limit (2.5 ppm in USA and the UK; 1 ppm for infant formula in China). The solution pH, the adding sequence of the buffer solution and MA and surface modifiers of CdS QDs greatly influenced the enhancement extent of MA for CdS QDs. The fluorescence enhancement was attributed to the surface passivation of the surface states of QDs by amine group of MA. The method was applied to detect MA in raw milk with satisfactory results. The proposed method manifested several advantages such as high sensitivity, short analysis time, low cost and ease of operation.

Ultrasensitive and dual functional colorimetric sensors for mercury (II) ions and hydrogen peroxide based on catalytic reduction property of silver nanoparticles.

The method provides an innovative dual functional sensors for mercury (II) ions and hydrogen peroxide. The addition of H(2)O(2) to the mixture of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and Hg(2+) induced color changes of the solution within several seconds even at 2.0 nM Hg(2+). Other metallic ions could not induce color change even at 10 µM. Of importance, this probe was not only successfully applied to detect Hg(2+), but also it could be used to sense H(2)O(2) at a concentration as low as 50 nM (by naked-eye). The outstanding sensitivity and selectivity property for Hg(2+) and H(2)O(2) resulted from the AgNPs mediated reduction of Hg(2+) to elementary Hg in the presence of H(2)O(2), causing the aggregation and colorimetric response of AgNPs. This sensitive and selective colorimetric assay opens up a fresh insight of development facile and fast detection methods for metal ions and biomolecules using the special catalytic reactivity of AgNPs.