Inhibition of α-glucosidase activity by curcumin loaded on ZnO@rGO nanocarrier for potential treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Curcumin (Cur) is an acidic polyphenol with some effects on α-glucosidase (α-Glu), but Cur has disadvantages such as being a weak target, lacking passing the blood-brain barrier and having low bioavailability. To enhance the curative effect of Cur, the hybrid composed of ZnO nanoparticles decorated on rGO was used to load Cur (ZnO@rGO-Cur). The use of the multispectral method and enzyme inhibition kinetics analysis certify the inhibitory effect and interaction mechanism of ZnO@rGO-Cur with α-Glu. The static quenching of α-Glu with both Cur and ZnO@rGO-Cur is primarily driven by hydrogen bond and van der Waals interactions. The conformation-changing ability by binding to the neighbouring phenolic hydroxyl group of Cur increased their ability to alter the secondary structure of α-Glu, resulting in the inhibition of enzyme activity. The inhibition constant (Ki, Cur > Kis,ZnO@rGO-Cur ) showed that the inhibition effect of ZnO@rGO-Cur on α-Glu was larger than that of Cur. The CCK-8 experiments proved that ZnO@rGO nanocomposites have good biocompatibility. These results suggest that the therapeutic potential of ZnO@rGO-Cur composite is an emerging nanocarrier platform for drug delivery systems for the potential treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Porous nanosheet-nanosphere@nanosheet FeNi2-LDH@FeNi2S4 core-shell heterostructures for asymmetric supercapacitors.

Transition bimetallic sulphides have emerged as important electrode materials for supercapacitors owing to their low toxicity, environmental friendliness, cost-effectiveness, multiple oxidation states, high natural abundance, flexible structure, and high theoretical specific capacitance. Herein, a porous nanosheet-nanosphere@nanosheet FeNi2-LDH@FeNi2S4 (FNLDH@FNS) core-shell heterostructure was directly prepared on nickel foam (NF) via a two-step hydrothermal method. The prepared electrode material exhibits an outstanding electrochemical performance. The specific capacity (Cs) values are 806 and 450 C g-1 at current density (Dc) values of 1 and 6 A g-1, respectively, revealing a satisfactory magnification performance. In addition, the FNLDH@FNS electrode exhibits a long cycle life with an supercapacitor (SC) retention rate of 92.3% after 5000 cycles at a Dc of 6 A g-1. The FNLDH@FNS//activated carbon (AC) asymmetric SC assembled with FNLDH@FNS (positive electrode) and activated carbon (AC, negative electrode) displays an energy density (Ed) of 36.67 Wh kg-1 and a power density (Pd) of 775.17 W kg-1.

Functionalization of Fe3O4/rGO magnetic nanoparticles with resveratrol and in vitro DNA interaction.

Based on the previous research, we found that the magnetic nanocomposite Fe3O4/rGO (reduced graphene oxide) has a good drug loading effect. Therefore, in this paper, we studied the positive role of Fe3O4/rGO as a drug carrier in the interaction between resveratrol (RES) and calf-thymus DNA (ct-DNA). The fluorescence experiment is used to evaluate by the Stern-Volmer equation, the quenching constant of RES - ct-DNA system with and without Fe3O4/rGO decreases with the increasing temperature. It was found the quenching mode of RES - ct-DNA and Fe3O4/rGO - RES - ct-DNA systems were all static quenching, but the binding constant of RES -ct-DNA increased from 4.14 ± 0.21 × 104 L mol-1 to 10.12 ± 0.02 × 104 L mol-1. It was found that Fe3O4/rGO formed a ternary complex with RES and ct-DNA by ultraviolet spectrum (UV-vis), resonance light scattering experiments (RLS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Meanwhile, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and circular dichroism (CD) experiments show that Fe3O4/rGO and Fe3O4/rGO loaded with RES have effect on the secondary structure of ct-DNA and change the conformation of ct-DNA. On the cellular level, the comet assay shows that Fe3O4/rGO and Fe3O4/rGO - RES could not cause DNA strand break to the mouse hepatocytes after 24 co-incubation. These results confirm that Fe3O4/rGO nanocomposites have good application potential, which can be used as a good drug carrier in a wide range of therapeutic methods.

The facile synthesis of a Co3O4-NiNP composite as an electrochemical non-enzymatic sensing platform for small chemical molecules.

In this paper, a new Co3O4-Ni nanocomposite-modified glassy carbon electrode (Co3O4-NiNPs/GCE) was successfully constructed and used to detect glucose and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The morphologies and structures of the Co3O4 and Co3O4-Ni nanocomposites were characterized via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The construction process of the modified electrode was characterized via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques. Co3O4-NiNPs/GCE shows more excellent electrocatalytic activity for the detection of glucose and H2O2 compared with Co3O4/GCE and NiNPs/GCE. The amperometric i-t method was used for the quantitative analysis of glucose and H2O2. The plots of current difference versus concentration of glucose and H2O2 were linear in the range of 0.3-550 µM and 0.5-89 µM, respectively. The corresponding limits of detection (LODs) were 0.086 µM and 0.23 µM for glucose and H2O2, respectively. This recommended sensor was successfully applied for the quantitative analysis of glucose in fruit and H2O2 in water samples.

Magnetic reduced graphene oxide as a nano-vehicle for loading and delivery of curcumin.

Magnetic nanoparticles have been widely used in the field of nanomedicine as drug delivery vehicles for targeted imaging-guided and controlled drug uptake and release actions. In this work, the loading of curcumin on Fe3O4/rGO nanocomposites and their interaction mechanism were investigated by multispectral methods including resonance light scattering (RLS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), circular dichroism (CD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). Results revealed that the drug loading was a complex process which is not governed by a simple adsorption. The interactions of vitro human serum albumin (HSA) with free curcumin and/or curcumin-Fe3O4/rGO complex have been studied. Outcomes from the fluorescence quenching showed that the binding constant of curcumin to HSA increased significantly in the presence of Fe3O4/rGO, confirming the enhanced effect of Fe3O4/rGO besides its low toxicity towards HSA. Findings from this work verified that Fe3O4/rGO nanocomposite has a promising potential as a good drug loading carrier that can be used and broad range of therapies.

MoS2/polyaniline/functionalized carbon cloth electrode materials for excellent supercapacitor performance.

In this study, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), polyaniline (PANI) and their composite (MoS2/PANI) were facilely prepared via a liquid-phase method and in situ polymerization. An MoS2/PANI/functionalized carbon cloth (MoS2/PANI/FCC) was facilely constructed by a drop-casting method. MoS2/PANI-10/FCC displays remarkable electrochemical performances, and its specific capacitances varied from 452.25 to 355.5 F g-1 at current densities ranging from 0.2 to 4 A g-1, which were higher than those of MoS2/CC (from 56.525 to 7.5 F g-1) and pure PANI/CC (319.5 to 248.5 F g-1), respectively. More importantly, the MoS2-10/PANI/FCC electrode has a long cycling life, and a capacity retention of 87% was obtained after 1000 cycles at a large current density of 10 A g-1. Moreover, the MoS2/PANI-10/FCC-based symmetric supercapacitor also exhibits excellent rate performance and good cycling stability. The specific capacitance based on the total mass of the two electrodes is 72.8 F g-1 at a current density of 0.2 A g-1 and the capacitance retention of 85% is obtained after 1000 cycles.

Adenine-stabilized carbon dots for highly sensitive and selective sensing of copper(II) ions and cell imaging.

Adenine-stabilized carbon dots (A-CDs) are shown to be a viable fluorescent probe for highly sensitive detection and imaging of Cu2+. The probe has a linear fluorometric response in the 1-700 nM concentration range and a 0.3 nM detection limit. The probe, with excitation/emission maxima at 380/435 nm, is highly selective for Cu2+ over other metal ions, anions, amino acids, and biomolecules. The fluorescence quenching mechanism of the A-CDs by Cu2+ is investigated using transmission electron microscopy images coupled with elemental mapping, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray-excited Auger electron spectroscopy, fluorescence lifetime, UV-visible spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. The experimental results show that the fluorescence quenching is caused by the combination of Cu2+-coordination-induced aggregation of the A-CDs, the reduction of Cu2+ by the A-CDs, and the nonradiative photoinduced electron transfer process from the A-CDs to Cu2+ or metallic Cu. The high sensitivity and high selectivity of the sensor are ascribed to the chemical interactions between the A-CDs and Cu2+, the photophysical process between the A-CDs and Cu2+, and the high fluorescence quantum yield of the A-CDs (44.6%). The A-CDs have excellent water solubility, good stability to variation of pH values, high photostability, fast response time, and low cytotoxicity. They are successfully employed for intracellular imaging of Cu2+ in HepG2 cells and Cu2+ detection in the tap water samples.

Interaction between aspirin and vitamin C with human serum albumin as binary and ternary systems.

Foods generally contain special ingredients which easily to interact with drugs human intaking, thus affecting drug efficacy and excretion, and even cause adverse reactions. Vitamin C (Vit. C) is abundant in fresh fruits and vegetables. It plays a regulatory role in redox metabolism, and its absence can cause scurvy. Aspirin (ASP) can be used to treat many diseases, is the earliest, common and widely used as antipyretic, analgesic and antirheumatic medicine. Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most abundant protein in vertebrate plasma and has the property of combining and transporting endogenous and exogenous substances. In this paper, the effects of Vit. C on the combination of ASP and HSA were studied by multi-spectra and voltammetric approaches. Fluorescence spectra showed that the quenching mode between Vit. C and HSA is dynamic, and the main binding force is hydrophobic force. The quenching mode between ASP and HSA is static one, and the main binding force is hydrogen bond and van der Waals force. For ternary biological system of (HSA-ASP)-Vit. C, the binding constant decreases compared with HSA-Vit. C system. However, for (HSA-Vit. C)-ASP system, the binding constant does not change when compared with binary system of HSA-ASP. Based on the technology combination of voltammetry, infrared, three-dimensional fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD), it is proved that the existence of ASP will influence the binding process of Vit. C to HSA. It could be concluded that taking Vit. C first doesn't affect the absorption of ASP and may be good for health; in contrast, it is not good to take Vit. C immediately as one have just taken ASP, because the existence of ASP reduce the absorption of Vit. C for human body.

Analysis of the Overlapped Electrochemical Signals of Hydrochlorothiazide and Pyridoxine on the Ethylenediamine-Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode by Use of Chemometrics Methods.

In this work, the electrochemical behavior of hydrochlorothiazide and pyridoxine on the ethylenediamine-modified glassy carbon electrode were investigated by differential pulse voltammetry. In pH 3.4 Britton-Robinson (B-R) buffer solution, both hydrochlorothiazide and pyridoxine had a pair of sensitive irreversible oxidation peaks, that overlapped in the 1.10 V to 1.20 V potential range. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the peak current was linearly related to hydrochlorothiazide and pyridoxine in the concentration range of 0.10-2.0 µg/mL and 0.02-0.40 µg/mL, respectively. Chemometrics methods, including classical least squares (CLS), principal component regression (PCR) and partial least squares (PLS), were introduced to resolve the overlapped signals and determine the two components in mixtures, which avoided the troublesome steps of separation and purification. Finally, the simultaneous determination of the two components in commercial pharmaceuticals was performed with satisfactory results.

Rapid, one-pot, protein-mediated green synthesis of water-soluble fluorescent nickel nanoclusters for sensitive and selective detection of tartrazine.

In the work, water-soluble bovine serum albumin-protected fluorescent nickel nanoclusters (BSA-NiNCs) are used as fluorescent probes to construct a label-free fluorescence quenching sensor for sensitive and selective detection of tartrazine. The fluorescent BSA-NiNCs are synthesized in one pot using BSA as both the template and reducing agent, and hydrogen peroxide as the additive. The as-prepared NiNCs are characterized by using various analytical techniques like transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The synthesized BSA-NiNCs have a quantum yield of ca. 8% by using quinine sulfate as a standard. The sensor for tartrazine detection shows a wide linear range of 0.01-3.5 µM, with a low detection limit of 4 nM. The fluorescence quenching very likely results from the combination of the intermolecular interactions and the secondary inner filter effect between BSA-NiNCs and tartrazine. Then, the proposed sensor is successfully employed for tartrazine detection in drink samples, and the results are comparable with those based on a reference HPLC method.

Green synthesis of luminescent graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots from human urine and its bioimaging application.

A hydrothermal synthetic approach is developed for the preparation of graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots (g-C3N4 QDs) from human urine. The reported synthetic method is green, simple, low-cost, less time-consuming, and can be used for the large-scale production of the g-C3N4 QDs. The as-prepared g-C3N4 QDs possess a high quantum yield of 15.7% by using quinine sulfate as a reference, and display excitation-wavelength dependent fluorescent emission. In addition, the g-C3N4 QDs exhibit high photostability, low cytotoxicity. and are successfully used as fluorescent probes for cell multicolor imaging. It is believed that the valuable nanomaterials, g-C3N4 QDs, which are transformed from the human bodily wastes, are promising in diverse chemical applications.

Electrochemical determination of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol using a hybrid film composed of a copper-based metal organic framework and electroreduced graphene oxide.

A metal organic framework (MOF) of the type copper(II)-1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (Cu-BTC) was electrodeposited on electroreduced graphene oxide (ERGO) placed on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The modified GCE was used for highly sensitive electrochemical determination of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP). The fabrication process of the modified electrode was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) demonstrates that the Cu-BTC/ERGO/GCE gives stronger signals for TNP reduction than Cu-BTC/GCE or ERGO/GCE alone. DPV also shows TNP to exhibit three reduction peaks, the first at a potential of -0.42 V (vs. SCE). This potential was selected because the other three similarly-structured compounds (2-nitrophenol, 4-nitrophenol, 2,4-dinitrophenol) do not give a signal at this potential. Response is linear in the 0.2 to 10 µM TNP concentration range, with a 0.1 µM detection limit (at S/N = 3) and a 15.98 µA∙µM-1∙cm-2 sensitivity under optimal conditions. The applicability of the sensor was evaluated by detecting TNP in spiked tap water and lake water samples. Recoveries ranged between 95 and 101%. Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of an electrochemical sensor that was fabricated by electrodeposition of the metal-organic framework (MOF) of copper(II)-1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (Cu-BTC) onto the surface of electroreduced graphene oxide (ERGO) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). It was applied to sensitive and selective detection of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP).

Synthesis-identification integration: One-pot hydrothermal preparation of fluorescent nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots for differentiating nucleobases with the aid of multivariate chemometrics analysis.

Most of the conventional multidimensional differential sensors currently need at least two-step fabrication, namely synthesis of probe(s) and identification of multiple analytes by mixing of analytes with probe(s), and were conducted using multiple sensing elements or several devices. In the study, we chose five different nucleobases (adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine, and uracil) as model analytes, and found that under hydrothermal conditions, sodium citrate could react directly with various nucleobases to yield different nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots (CDs). The CDs synthesized from different nucleobases exhibited different fluorescent properties, leading to their respective characteristic fluorescence spectra. Hence, we combined the fluorescence spectra of the CDs with advanced chemometrics like principle component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), K-nearest neighbor (KNN) and soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA), to present a conceptually novel "synthesis-identification integration" strategy to construct a multidimensional differential sensor for nucleobase discrimination. Single-wavelength excitation fluorescence spectral data, single-wavelength emission fluorescence spectral data, and fluorescence Excitation-Emission Matrices (EEMs) of the CDs were respectively used as input data of the differential sensor. The results showed that the discrimination ability of the multidimensional differential sensor with EEM data set as input data was superior to those with single-wavelength excitation/emission fluorescence data set, suggesting that increasing the number of the data input could improve the discrimination power. Two supervised pattern recognition methods, namely KNN and SIMCA, correctly identified the five nucleobases with a classification accuracy of 100%. The proposed "synthesis-identification integration" strategy together with a multidimensional array of experimental data holds great promise in the construction of differential sensors.

Label-free photoluminescence assay for nitrofurantoin detection in lake water samples using adenosine-stabilized copper nanoclusters as nanoprobes.

In this paper, we constructed a novel label-free analytical strategy for highly sensitive and selective detection of nitrofurantoin (NFT) based on adenosine-stabilized copper nanoclusters (CuNCs) as nanoprobes. It was found that NFT caused a rapid decrease in the photoluminescence intensity of CuNCs. The photoluminescence quenching was likely attributed to the inner filter effect between NFT and CuNCs. The CuNCs exhibited a wide linear range of 0.05-4.0µM with the detection limit of 30nM (7.1ngmL-1) for detection of NFT. And it was successfully applied for NFT detection in lake water samples.

Cytidine-stabilized copper nanoclusters as a fluorescent probe for sensing of copper ions and hemin.

We reported a sensitive and selective fluorescence "turn on-off" strategy for detection of Cu2+ and hemin, respectively. The fluorescence "turn on" sensor for Cu2+ detection had a wide linear range of 0.05-2.0 µM with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.032 µM, and the fluorescence "turn off" sensor for hemin detection possessed a wide linear range of 0.05-4.0 µM with an LOD of 0.045 µM. The sensor for Cu2+ or hemin exhibited high selectivity over other possible substances. In addition, it was demonstrated by using various analytical characterization techniques that the fluorescence "turn on" sensor for Cu2+ was constructed on the basis of the formation of water-soluble fluorescent copper nanoclusters (CuNCs), and the fabrication of the fluorescence "turn off" sensor for hemin was predominately based on the inner filter effect of hemin on the fluorescence of the CuNCs. Finally, the proposed fluorescence "turn on-off" sensor system was successfully applied for detection of Cu2+ in lake water samples and hemin in duck blood samples.

One-Pot Aqueous Synthesis of Nucleoside-Templated Fluorescent Copper Nanoclusters and Their Application for Discrimination of Nucleosides.

A facile, one-pot synthetic method has been proposed to prepare water-soluble fluorescent copper nanoclusters (CuNCs) templated by nucleosides. The nucleoside-templated fluorescent CuNCs were further characterized by using various analytical techniques, such as transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The role of various reactants such as ascorbic acid, nucleoside, and citrate buffer in the synthesis process of fluorescent CuNCs was explored. The results showed that nucleoside and ascorbic acid were very likey to respectively act as a stabilizer and a reductant to form nanoclusters, and citrate buffer acted as both pH regulator solution and a reducing agent. The fluorescence spectra of various nucleoside-templated CuNCs were finally combined with multivariate chemometrics analysis for discrimination of different nucleosides.

One-step synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets with the help of melamine and its application for fluorescence detection of mercuric ions.

A facile, simple, and relatively environment-friendly hydrothermal approach was developed for one-step synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (GCNNs) using melamine and sodium citrate as the precursors. The prepared GCNNs emit strong fluorescence with a high quantum yield of 48.3%. The GCNNs were then characterized by various techniques including transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. In addition, the fluorescence quenching behavior of the GCNNS by mercuric ions (Hg2+) was exploited to fabricate a label-free fluorescence quenching sensor for sensitive and selective detection of Hg2+. The results showed that there existed a linear relationship between the fluorescence intensity and the concentration of Hg2+ from 0.001 to 1.0µM with a detection limit of 0.3nM. Finally, the sensor was successfully used to detection of Hg2+ in water and milk samples.

Synthesizing a nano-composite of BSA-capped Au nanoclusters/graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets as a new fluorescent probe for dopamine detection.

A strong red fluorescent nanocomposite, consisting of graphite-like carbon nitride nanosheets (g-C3N4 NSs) and serum albumin-capped Au nanoclusters (AuNCs), was synthesized. Dopamine (DA) can quench the red fluorescence of the nanocomposite, based on the Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) mechanism. In this quenching process, the energy is transferred from the fluorescent g-C3N4 NSs-AuNCs to the oxidized DA quinine molecules (DA is easily oxidated to form DA quinine in air). The red fluorescence emission at 420 nm decreases dramatically and the quenching ratio (F0 - F)/F0 is linearly related to the concentration of DA in the range of 0.05-8.0 µmol L-1 with a detection limit of 0.018 µmol L-1 (S/N = 3). Additionally, this sensor has a potential of application to assay the DA in the real samples, such as human serum and human urine.

Competitive interactions between glucose and lactose with BSA: which sugar is better for children?

The interactions of the sugars glucose and lactose with the transport protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) were investigated using fluorescence, FT-IR and circular dichroism (CD) techniques. The results indicated that glucose could be bonded and transported by BSA, mainly involving hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions (ΔH = -86.13 kJ mol(-1)). The obtained fluorescence data from the binding of sugar and BSA were processed by the multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) method, and the extracted concentration profiles showed that the equilibrium constant, rglucose:BSA, was about 7. However, the binding of lactose to BSA did not quench the fluorescence significantly, and this indicated that lactose could not be directly transported by BSA. The binding experiments were further performed using the fluorescence titration method in the presence of calcium and BSA. Calcium was added so that the calcium/BSA reactions could be studied in the presence or absence of glucose, lactose or hydrolysis products. The results showed that hydrolyzed lactose seemed to enhance calcium absorption in bovine animals. It would also appear that for children, lactose provides better nutrition; however, glucose is better for adults.

Label-free fluorescent catalytic biosensor for highly sensitive and selective detection of the ferrous ion in water samples using a layered molybdenum disulfide nanozyme coupled with an advanced chemometric model.

In this work, we developed a novel layered molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheet peroxidase mimetic-based fluorescent catalytic biosensor for the sensitive and selective detection of Fe(2+). It was found that Fe(2+) remarkably enhanced the catalytic activity of the MoS2 nanosheet for oxidation of OPD to form a highly fluorescent substance, 2,3-diaminophenazine (DAPN), and the MoS2/OPD/H2O2 biosensor displayed substantial fluorescence enhancement after addition of Fe(2+) in a concentration-dependent manner. The fluorescence intensity was proportional to the concentration of Fe(2+) over a range of 0.005-0.20 µM with a limit of detection of 3.5 nM (signal/noise = 3). When compared with the OPD/H2O2 biosensor, the MoS2/OPD/H2O2 biosensor provided a higher sensitivity and selectivity for Fe(2+), suggesting the validity of the use of the MoS2 nanosheets. To further demonstrate the feasibility of the MoS2/OPD/H2O2 biosensor for Fe(2+) detection in real water samples, we measured the three-dimensional excitation-emission spectra of the real system, and submitted the excitation-emission matrix (EEM) data to an advanced chemometrics model based on parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). The results showed that the use of the PARAFAC model could further enhance the selectivity of the biosensor and determine Fe(2+) concentration in the presence of unexpected interferents from real water samples. This work opens up new opportunities for the use of the catalytic properties of the MoS2 nanosheets and advanced chemometrics models in the field of biosensors.