Jianjun Du

A New Fluorescent Chemodosimeter for Hg2+: Selectivity, Sensitivity, and Resistance to Cys and GSH

On the basis of the mechanism of Hg(2+)-promoted hydrolysis, a new fluorescent chemodosimeter (Rho-Hg1) is reported for single-selective and parts per billion level-sensitive detection of Hg(2+) in natural waters. Moreover, the fluorescence response of Rho-Hg1 to Hg(2+) has little interference from sulfur compounds such as cysteine and glutathione and could be used in the Hg(2+) imaging in living cells.

Colorimetric Detection of Mercury Ions Based on Plasmonic Nanoparticles

The development of rapid, specific, cost-effective, and robust tools in monitoring Hg(2+) levels in both environmental and biological samples is of utmost importance due to the severe mercury toxicity to humans. A number of techniques exist, but the colorimetric assay, which is reviewed herein, is shown to be a possible tool in monitoring the level of mercury. These assays allow transforming target sensing events into color changes, which have applicable potential for in-the-field application through naked-eye detection. Specifically, plasmonic nanoparticle-based colorimetric assay exhibits a much better propensity for identifying various targets in terms of sensitivity, solubility, and stability compared to commonly used organic chromophores. In this review, recent progress in the development of gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric assays for Hg(2+) is summarized, with a particular emphasis on examples of functionalized gold nanoparticle systems with oligonucleotides, oligopeptides, and functional molecules. Besides highlighting the current design principle for plasmonic nanoparticle-based colorimetric probes, the discussions on challenges and the prospect of next-generation probes for in-the-field applications are also presented.

Fluorescent Probes for Pd2+ Detection by Allylidene–Hydrazone Ligands with Excellent Selectivity and Large Fluorescence Enhancement

Because palladium is widely used in various catalysts and converters, which results in a high level of contamination of water systems and the soil by residual palladium, there is an urgent need for Pd(2+)-sensitive and -selective probes. Based on the special affinity of Pd(2+) to conjugated double-bond ligands, two fluorescence probes (RPd2 and RPd3) that contain conjugated allylidene-hydrazone ligands that link to colorless rhodamine-spirolactam have been developed. The results show that conjugated allylidene-hydrazones have a much better affinity toward Pd(2+), and consequently provide the probes with more acute color change and fluorescence enhancement (≈170-fold), and better selectivity over other metal ions (especially platinum-group elements, or PGEs) than the unconjugated allyl-hydrazine. With richer electron density and a more suitable stereo effect in the allylidene-hydrazone group, RPd2 displays the best specificity toward Pd(2+) and affords convenient detection by the naked eye. Its potential application for Pd(2+)-contaminated water and soil-sample analysis is revealed by proof-of-concept experiments.

Flexible Colorimetric Detection of Mercuric Ion by Simply Mixing Nanoparticles and Oligopeptides

8 ] has been made over the past few decades. Such optical sensors are normally based on the simple measurement of the UV/Vis spectrum, fl uorescence spectrum, or colorimetry. Colorimetric detec-tion, which is visually and simply read out by the naked eye, is particularly attractive for point-of-use applications. What has limited such a colorimetric approach based on organic chromophoric probes is the narrow selectivity, solubility, and detection range. Recently, colorimetric detection based on Au nanopar-ticles (NPs) has drawn much attention,

Optical reading of contaminants in aqueous media based on gold nanoparticles

With increasing trends of global population growth, urbanization, pollution over-exploitation, and climate change, the safe water supply has become a global issue and is threatening our society in terms of sustainable development. Therefore, there is a growing need for a water-monitoring platform with the capability of rapidness, specificity, low-cost, and robustness. This review summarizes the recent developments in the design and application of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) based optical assays to detect contaminants in aqueous media with a high performance. First, a brief discussion on the correlation between the optical reading strategy and the optical properties of AuNPs is presented. Then, we summarize the principle behind AuNP-based optical assays to detect different contaminants, such as toxic metal ion, anion, and pesticides, according to different optical reading strategies: colorimetry, scattering, and fluorescence. Finally, the comparison of these assays and the outlook of AuNP-based optical detection are discussed.

Electrophoretic Build-Up of Alternately Multilayered Films and Micropatterns Based on Graphene Sheets and Nanoparticles and their Applications in Flexible Supercapacitors

Graphene nanosheets and metal nanoparticles (NPs) have been used as nano-building-blocks for assembly into macroscale hybrid structures with promising performance in electrical devices. However, in most graphene and metal NP hybrid structures, the graphene sheets and metal NPs (e.g., AuNPs) do not enable control of the reaction process, orientation of building blocks, and organization at the nanoscale. Here, an electrophoretic layer-by-layer assembly for constructing multilayered reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/AuNP films and lateral micropatterns is presented. This assembly method allows easy control of the nano-architecture of building blocks along the normal direction of the film, including the number and thickness of RGO and AuNP layers, in addition to control of the lateral orientation of the resultant multilayered structures. Conductivity of multilayered RGO/AuNP hybrid nano-architecture shows great improvement caused by a bridging effect of the AuNPs along the out-of-plane direction between the upper and lower RGO layers. The results clearly show the potential of electrophoretic build-up in the fabrication of graphene-based alternately multilayered films and patterns. Finally, flexible supercapacitors based on multilayered RGO/AuNP hybrid films are fabricated, and excellent performance, such as high energy and power densities, are achieved.

Colorimetric Chemodosimeter Based on Diazonium–Gold-Nanoparticle Complexes for Sulfite Ion Detection in Solution

A fast and simple colorimetric detection system for sulfite, based on diazonium-gold-nanoparticle(AuNP) complexation, has high selectivity and sensitivity in aqueous media. The positively charged diazonium has affinity for the AuNP surface due to an electrostatic effect, which prevents AuNPs from aggregating in highly saline solutions. Upon addition of sulfite, the AuNPs are free to aggregate due to the formation of a neutral and insoluble phenylhydrazine derivative.

A two-photon NIR-to-NIR fluorescent probe for imaging hydrogen peroxide in living cells

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), one of the reactive oxygen species (ROS), plays vital roles in diverse physiological processes. Imbalance of the H2O2 is concerned with serious diseases such as cardiovascular disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimers disease and cancer. Therefore, it is critical to develop efficient methods for monitoring H2O2 in vivo. In this work, a two-photon excitation (860nm) NIR fluorescent turn-on probe TPNR-H2O2 for H2O2 based on Dicyanomethylene-4H-pyran fluorophore is reported, which can be used in solution detection with 13.2-fold NIR fluorescence enhancement, fast response (completed within 40min), excellent sensitivity (DL 72.48nM), and lower cellular auto-fluorescence interference. Importantly, the perfect photostability of TPNR-H2O2 clearly demonstrated that the probe could be applied to imaging intracellular H2O2 for a long time without photobleaching. In addition, through two-photon imaging, this probe was cell permeable and used to monitor the level of endogenous and exogenous H2O2 with promising biological application.

d-PET-controlled “off-on” Polarity-sensitive Probes for Reporting Local Hydrophilicity within Lysosomes

Polarity-sensitive fluorescent probes are powerful chemical tools for studying biomolecular structures and activities both in vitro and in vivo. However, the lack of “off-on” polarity-sensing probes has limited the accurate monitoring of biological processes that involve an increase in local hydrophilicity. Here, we design and synthesize a series of “off-on” polarity-sensitive fluorescent probes BP series consisting of the difluoroboron dippyomethene (BODIPY) fluorophore connected to a quaternary ammonium moiety via different carbon linkers. All these probes showed low fluorescence quantum yields in nonpolar solution but became highly fluorescent in polar media. BP-2, which contains a two-carbon linker and a trimethyl quaternary ammonium, displayed a fluorescence intensity and quantum yield that were both linearly correlated with solvent polarity. In addition, BP-2 exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity for polarity over other environmental factors and a variety of biologically relevant species. BP-2 can be synthesized readily via an unusual Mannich reaction followed by methylation. Using electrochemistry combined with theoretical calculations, we demonstrated that the “off-on” sensing behavior of BP-2 is primarily due to the polarity-dependent donor-excited photoinduced electron transfer (d-PET) effect. Live-cell imaging established that BP-2 enables the detection of local hydrophilicity within lysosomes under conditions of lysosomal dysfunction.

Biodegradable Drug-Loaded Hydroxyapatite Nanotherapeutic Agent for Targeted Drug Release in Tumors

Tumor-targeted drug delivery systems have been increasingly used to improve the therapeutic efficiency of anticancer drugs and reduce their toxic side effects in vivo. Focused on this point, doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanorods consisting of folic acid (FA) modification (DOX@HAP-FA) were developed for efficient antitumor treatment. The DOX-loaded nanorods were synthesized through in situ coprecipitation and hydrothermal method with a DOX template, demonstrating a new procedure for drug loading in HAP materials. DOX could be efficiently released from DOX@HAP-FA within 24 h in weakly acidic buffer solution (pH = 6.0) because of the degradation of HAP nanorods. With endocytosis under the mediation of folate receptors, the nanorods exhibited enhanced cellular uptake and further degraded, and consequently, the proliferation of targeted cells was inhibited. More importantly, in a tumor-bearing mouse model, DOX@HAP-FA treatment demonstrated excellent tumor growth inhibition. In addition, no apparent side effects were observed during the treatment. These results suggested that DOX@HAP-FA may be a promising nanotherapeutic agent for effective cancer treatment in vivo.