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Cuproptosis, a kind of newly recognized cell death modality, shows enormous prospect in cancer treatment. The inducer of cuproptosis has more advantages in tumor therapy, especially that can trigger cuproptosis and chemodynamic therapy (CDT) simultaneously. However, cuproptosis is restricted to the deficiency of intracellular copper ions and the nonspecific delivery of copper-based ionophores. Therefore, high level delivery, responsive release, and utilizing synergistic-function of inducer become the key on cuproptosis-based oncotherapy. In this work, a cascade nanosystem is constructed for enhanced cuproptosis and CDT. In the weak acidic environment of tumor cells, DNA, zinc ions, and Cu + can release from the nanosystem. Since Cu + having superior performance in mediating both Fenton-like reaction and cuproptosis, the released Cu + induces cuproptosis and CDT efficiently, accompanied by Cu 2+ generation. Then Cu 2+ can be converted into Cu + partially by glutathione (GSH) to from a Cu + supply loop and ensure the synergistic action. Meanwhile, the consumption of GSH also contributes to cuproptosis and CDT in return. Finally, DNA and Zn 2+ form DNAzyme to shear catalase-related RNA, resulting in the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and further enhancing combination therapy. These results provide a promising nanotherapeutic platform and may inspire the design for potential cancer treatment based on cuproptosis., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Plasmon resonance energy transfer (PRET), which occurs between plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) and organic dyes, shows significant potential in sensing chemistry due to its high sensitivity at the single-particle level. In this work, a PRET-based sensing strategy was presented for the ultrasensitive sensing of nitric oxide (NO) in living cells. Supramolecular cyclodextrin (CD) molecules that exhibited different binding abilities to various molecules due to its unique rigid structure and annular cavity was applied and modified on gold NPs (GNPs) to construct the PRET nanosensors. NO-reactive molecules, rhodamine B-derived molecules (RdMs), were further inserted into the cavity of CD molecules through hydrophobic interactions to form host-guest structures. In the presence of NO, RdMs reacted with the target and generated rhodamine (RdB). Due to the spectral overlap between GNPs@CD and RdB molecules, PRET occurred and further led to a decrease in the scattering intensity of GNPs@CD, which was sensitive to the concentration of NO. The proposed sensing platform not only provides quantitative detection of NO in solution but also realized the single-particle imaging analysis of exogenous and endogenous NO in living cells. The single-particle plasmonic probes exhibit great potential in the in vivo sensing of biomolecules and metabolic processes.

Tumor-targeted and stimuli-activatable nanosensitizers are highly desirable for cancer theranostics. However, designing smart nanosensitizers with multiple imaging signals and synergistic therapeutic activities switched on is challenging. Herein, we report tumor-targeted and redox-activatable nanosensitizers (1-NPs) for sono-photodynamic immunotherapy of tumors by molecular co-assembly and redox-controlled disassembly. 1-NPs show a high longitudinal relaxivity (r 1 =18.7±0.3 mM -1  s -1 ), but "off" dual fluorescence (FL) emission (at 547 and 672 nm), "off" sono-photodynamic therapy and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) inhibition activities. Upon reduction by glutathione (GSH), 1-NPs rapidly disassemble and remotely release small molecules 2-Gd, Zn-PPA-SH and NLG919, concurrently switching on (1) dual FL emission, (2) sono-photodynamic therapy and (3) IDO1 inhibition activities. After systemic injection, 1-NPs are effective for bimodal FL and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-guided sono-photodynamic immunotherapy of orthotropic breast and brain tumors in mice under combined ultrasound (US) and 671-nm laser irradiation., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Starvation therapy kills tumor cells via consuming glucose to cut off their energy supply. However, since glucose oxidase (GOx)-mediated glycolysis is oxygen-dependent, the cascade reaction based on GOx faces the challenge of a hypoxic tumor microenvironment. By decomposition of glycolysis production of H 2 O 2 into O 2 , starvation therapy can be enhanced, but chemodynamic therapy is limited. Here, a close-loop strategy for on demand H 2 O 2 and O 2 delivery, release, and recycling is proposed. The nanoreactor (metal-protein-polyphenol capsule) is designed by incorporating two native proteins, GOx and hemoglobin (Hb), in polyphenol networks with zeolitic imidazolate framework as sacrificial templates. Glycolysis occurs in the presence of GOx with O 2 consumption and the produced H 2 O 2 reacts with Hb to produce highly cytotoxic hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and methemoglobin (MHb) (Fenton reaction). Benefiting from the different oxygen carrying capacities of Hb and MHb, oxygen on Hb is rapidly released to supplement its consumption during glycolysis. Glycolysis and Fenton reactions are mutually reinforced by oxygen supply, consuming more glucose and producing more hydroxyl radicals and ultimately enhancing both starvation therapy and chemodynamic therapy. This cascade nanoreactor exhibits high efficiency for tumor suppression and provides an effective strategy for oxygen-mediated synergistic starvation therapy and chemodynamic therapy., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Accurate detection of hepatic hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) to monitor H 2 S-related enzymes' activity is critical for acute hepatitis diagnosis, but remains a challenge due to the dynamic and transient nature of H 2 S. Here, we report a H 2 S-activatable near-infrared afterglow/MRI bimodal probe F1-GdNP, which shows an "always-on" MRI signal and "off-on" afterglow signal toward H 2 S. F1-GdNP shows fast response, high sensitivity and specificity toward H 2 S, permitting afterglow imaging of H 2 S and evaluation of cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE)'s activity in living mice. We further employ the high spatial-resolution MRI signal of F1-GdNP to track its delivery and accumulation in liver. Importantly, F1-GdNP offers a high signal-to-background ratio (SBR=86.2±12.0) to sensitively report on the increased hepatic H 2 S level in the acute hepatitis mice via afterglow imaging, which correlated well with the upregulated CSE activity in the liver, showcasing the good potential of F1-GdNP for monitoring of acute hepatitis process in vivo., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

A simple process, rich information, and intelligent response are the goals pursued by cancer diagnosis and treatment. Herein, we developed a core-shell plasmonic nanomaterial (Au@MnO 2 -DNA), which consisted of a AuNP core with an outer shell MnO 2 nanosheet decorated with fluorophore modified DNA, to achieve the aforementioned aims. On the basis of the unique optical properties of plasmonic nanoparticles and the oxidability of the shell MnO 2 , scattering signal and fluorescence (FL) signal changes were both related to the expression level of glutathione (GSH), for which a dual-mode imaging analysis was successfully achieved on single optical microscope equipment with one-key switching. Meanwhile, the product of Mn 2+ from the reaction between MnO 2 and GSH not only served as a smart chemodynamic agent to initiate Fenton-like reaction for achieving chemodynamic therapy (CDT) of cancer cells but also relieved the side effect of intracellular GSH in cancer therapy. Therefore, the core-shell plasmonic nanomaterials with dual modal switching features and diagnostic properties act as excellent probes for achieving bioanalysis of aberrant levels of intracellular GSH and simultaneously activating the CDT of cancer cells based on the in situ reactions in cancer cells.

The precise measurement of thermodynamic and kinetic properties for biomolecules provides the detailed information for a multitude of applications in biochemistry, biosensing, and health care. However, sensitivity in characterizing the thermodynamic binding affinity down to a single molecule, such as the Gibbs free energy ([Formula: see text]), enthalpy ([Formula: see text]), and entropy ([Formula: see text]), has not materialized. Here, we develop a nanoparticle-based technique to probe the energetic contributions of single-molecule binding events, which introduces a focused laser of optical tweezer to an optical path of plasmonic imaging to accumulate and monitor the transient local heating. This single-molecule calorimeter uncovers the complex nature of molecular interactions and binding characterizations, which can be employed to identify the thermodynamic equilibrium state and determine the energetic components and complete thermodynamic profile of the free energy landscape. This sensing platform promises a breakthrough in measuring thermal effect at the single-molecule level and provides a thorough description of biomolecular specific interactions., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest.

Stimuli-responsive smart photosensitizer (PS) nanoassemblies that allow enhanced delivery and controlled release of PSs are promising for imaging-guided photodynamic therapy (PDT) of tumors. However, the lack of high-sensitivity and spatial-resolution signals and fast washout of released PSs from tumor tissues have impeded PDT efficacy in vivo. Herein, we report tumor targeting, redox-responsive magnetic and fluorogenic PS nanoassemblies (NP-RGD) synthesized via self-assembly of a cRGD- and disulfide-containing fluorogenic and paramagnetic small molecule (1-RGD) for fluorescence/magnetic resonance bimodal imaging-guided tumor PDT. NP-RGD show high r 1 relaxivity but quenched fluorescence and PDT activity; disulfide reduction by glutathione (GSH) promotes efficient disassembly into a small-molecule probe (2-RGD) and an organic PS (PPa-SH), which could further bind with intracellular albumin, allowing prolonged retention and cascade activation of fluorescence and PDT to ablate tumors., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Upconverting ion-selective nanoparticles that emit light at the near-infrared region are prepared here. The transport of calcium ions induces the deprotonation of the incorporated chromoionophore (P6) through ion exchange resulting in an increase in the emission of UCNPs for the detection of intracellular calcium ions.

A target-triggered, self-powered strategy for in situ monitoring of intracellular microRNAs was fabricated via a versatile DNAzyme-MnO2 nanosystem, which integrates delivery, quenching, target recognition, self-supply of cofactors and signal amplification all in one.

Exocytosis involves interactions between secretory vesicles and the plasma membrane. Studying the membrane response is thus critical to understand this important cellular process and to differentiate different mediator release patterns. Here we introduce a label-free optical imaging method to detect the vesicle-membrane-interaction-induced membrane deformation associated with single exocytosis in mast cells. We show that the plasma membrane expands by a few tens of nanometers accompanying each vesicle-release event, but the dynamics of the membrane deformation varies from cell to cell, which reflect different exocytosis processes. Combining the temporal and spatial information allows us to resolve complex vesicle-release processes, such as two vesicle-release events that occur closely in time and location. Simultaneous following a vesicle release with fluorescence and membrane deformation tracking further allows us to determine the propagation speed of the vesicle-release-induced membrane deformation along the cell surface, which has an average value of 5.2 ± 1.8 μm/s.

Obtaining steady-state bright electrochemiluminescence (ECL) at single nanoparticles is crucial but challenging for the realization of the single-nanoparticle electrochemical sensing of single cells. In this work, steady-state bright ECL is implemented at single semiconductive titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles for sensing the local efflux from single living cells. Oxygen vacancies on the surface of rutile TiO 2 nanoparticles have a high affinity for hydrogen peroxides that are not easily passivated upon exposure to voltage. Therefore, the steady-state adsorption of hydrogen peroxide by the TiO 2 nanoparticle surface permits the continuous electrochemical generation of superoxide and hydroxyl radicals by electrons and surface-trapped holes at the nanoparticles, resulting in constant ECL under physiological conditions. This steady-state luminescence during continuous imaging is correlated with the concentration of hydrogen peroxide, leading to the local ECL visualization of hydrogen peroxide efflux from single cells. The successful local ECL imaging demonstrated herein provides an unprecedented approach to enable subcellular electroanalysis using single nanoparticles.

A highly efficient method for aptamer screening with real-time monitoring of the SELEX process was described by silver decahedra nanoparticles (Ag 10 -NPs) enhanced surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRI). A microarray chip was developed by immobilization of target protein (Lactoferrin (Lac)) and control proteins (α-lactalbumin (α), β-lactoglobulin (β), casein, and bovine serum albumin (BSA)) on the biochip surface. Ag 10 -NPs were conjugated with an ssDNA library (lib) (Ag 10 -NPs-library) that consisted of a central 40 nt randomized sequence and a 20 nt fixed primer sequence. Introduction of the Ag 10 -NPs-library to the SPRI flow channels drastically increased the sensitivity of SPRI signal for real-time monitoring of SELEX. The work allows rapid screening of potential targets, and yields nine aptamers with high affinity (nanomolar range) for Lac after only six-rounds of selection. The aptamer Lac 13-26 was then further tested by SPRI, and the results demonstrated that the aptamer had the capacity to be ultra-sensitive for specific detection of Lac. The novel SPRI-SELEX method demonstrated here showed many advantages of real-time evaluation, high throughput, and high efficiency., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

DNA/RNA strand displacement is one of the most fundamental reactions in DNA and RNA circuits and nanomachines. In this work, we reported an exploration of the dynamic process of the toehold-mediated strand displacement via core-satellite plasmon rulers at the single-molecule level. Applying plasmon rulers with unlimited lifetime, single-strand displacement triggered by the invader that resulted in stepwise leaving of satellite from the core was continuously monitored by changes of scattering signal for hours. The kinetics of strand displacement in vitro with three different toehold lengths have been investigated. Also, the study revealed the difference in the kinetics of strand displacement between DNA/RNA and DNA/DNA duplexes. For the kinetics study in vivo, influence from the surrounding medium has been evaluated using both phosphate buffer and cell lysate. Applying core-satellite plasmon rulers with high signal/noise ratio, kinetics study in living cells proceeded for the first time, which was not possible by conventional methods with a fluorescent reporter. The plasmon rulers, which are flexible, easily constructed, and robust, have proven to be effective tools in exploring the dynamical behaviors of biochemical reactions in vivo.

Different from the most extensively used inorganic quantum dots (Qdots) for the current state-of-the-art photoelectrochemical (PEC) bioanalysis, this work reports the first demonstration of polymer dots (Pdots) for novel PEC bioanalysis. The semiconducting Pdots were prepared via the reprecipitation method and then immobilized onto the transparent indium tin oxide glass electrode for PEC biodetection of the model molecule l-cysteine. The experimental results revealed that the as-fabricated Pdots exhibited excellent and interesting PEC activity and good analytical performance of rapid response, high stability, wide linear range, and excellent selectivity. In particular, the PEC sensor could easily discriminate l-cysteine from reduced l-glutathione (l-GSH). This work manifested the great promise of Pdots in the field of PEC bioanalysis, and it is believed that our work could inspire the development of numerous functional Pdots with unique properties for innovative PEC bioanalytical purposes in the future.

Delivering and releasing anticancer agents directly to their subcellular targets of action in a controlled manner are almost the ultimate goal of pharmacology, but it is challenging. In recent decades, plenty of efforts have been made to send drugs to tumor tissue or even specifically to cancer cells; however, at the subcellular scale, cancer cells have multiple cunning ways to hinder drugs from reaching their final action targets. Here, we demonstrate a strategy to bypass the last defense of cancer drug resistance by contolling the drug transportation and release at subcellular scale. We developed a platform based on ultrasound-degradable mesoporous nanosilicon, which allows drug delivery towards, ultrasound controlled drug release into the cell nucleus. This strategy altered the drug distribution within cells and remarkably enhanced the drug accumulation ratio at the action target, i.e. nucleus. In vitro and in vivo studies proved that this strategy reduced the drug dosage by an order of magnitude, prolonged drug retention and amplified therapeutic efficacy in tumor-bearing mice. These results offer new insights into bypassing cancer drug resistance through transport and release drugs directly to their action targets in a controlled manner., (© 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Two-photon excitation (TPE) nanoparticle-based photosensitizers (PSs) that combine the advantages of TPE and nanotechnology have emerged as attractive therapeutic agents for near-infrared red (NIR) light excited photodynamic therapy (PDT) for cancer treatment. TPE PDT is characterized by nonlinear absorption of two relatively low-energy photons of NIR light with the resulting emission of high-energy visible light. This high-energy light can sensitize oxygen to produce cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) which can kill cancer cells. The long-wavelength light used to excite TPE NPs allows for deeper tissue penetration to achieve efficient PDT of deep-seated tumors. Moreover, TPE nanoparticles normally have large two-photon absorption (TPA) cross-sections, which hold great potential as efficient two-photon donors in PDT. In this review, we will summarize the recent advances made in the development of TPE nanoparticles for cancer PDT. Five different TPE nanoparticles, including quantum dots (QDs), carbon nanomaterials, silica nanoparticles, gold nanomaterials, and polymer nanoparticles, are summarized in detail, and the existing challenges as well as the future perspectives are also discussed.

The recognition of cancer cells is a key for cancer diagnosis and therapy, but the specificity highly relies on the use of biorecognition molecules particularly antibodies. Because biorecognition molecules suffer from some apparent disadvantages, such as hard to prepare and poor storage stability, novel alternatives that can overcome these disadvantages are highly important. Here we present monosaccharide-imprinted fluorescent nanoparticles (NPs) for targeting and imaging of cancer cells. The molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) probe was fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) doped silica NPs with a shell imprinted with sialic acid, fucose or mannose as the template. The monosaccharide-imprinted NPs exhibited high specificity toward the target monosaccharides. As the template monosaccharides used are over-expressed on cancer cells, these monosaccharide-imprinted NPs allowed for specific targeting cancer cells over normal cells. Fluorescence imaging of human hepatoma carcinoma cells (HepG-2) over normal hepatic cells (L-02) and mammary cancer cells (MCF-7) over normal mammary epithelial cells (MCF-10A) by these NPs was demonstrated. As the imprinting approach employed herein is generally applicable and highly efficient, monosaccharide-imprinted NPs can be promising probes for targeting cancer cells.

In this work, oligonucleotide-encapusulated silver nanoclusters were applied in the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) system of CdS nanocrystals (NCs)/ K2S2O8 based on dual ECL quenching effects. We found that the ECL emission of CdS NCs matched well with the absorption band of oligonucleotide encapsulated Ag nanoclusters, which could act as the energy acceptor of CdS NCs ECL so as to lead to an effective ECL resonance energy transfer (RET). On the other hand, the Ag nanoclusters could also catalyze electrochemical reduction of K2S2O8, resulting in increased consumption of ECL coreactant near the working electrode and decreased ECL intensity from CdS NCs. On the basis of the dual ECL quenching effects, a sensitive ECL biosensor for detection of microRNA was successfully achieved with a wide linear range from 10 fM to 100 pM.

Here we have developed a sensitive cancer cell amplified detection method which combined Au NPs enhanced electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of CdS nanocrystals (NCs) film, with isothermal circular amplification reaction of polymerase. In DNA circular amplification detection system, hairpin DNA beacon/Au NPs composite modified CdS NCs film was used as an ECL emitter. Messenger DNA is hybridized with the aptamer modified on magnetic beads (MBs) to form MB-Au bioconjugates. In the presence of HL-60 cell, the aptamer would conjugate with the glycoprotein at cell surface and messenger DNA sequence would be released. The released messenger DNA sequence was then introduced into the cycle amplification system to trigger circular polymerizations. This assay allows us to determine the released messenger DNA equivalent to 10 cells and exhibits a significant specificity for HL-60 cells., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

"On-demand" drug release can maximize therapeutic efficacy for specific states of malignancies and minimize drug toxicity to healthy cells. Meanwhile, there is lack of a real-time monitoring platform to accurately investigate the amount of anticancer drugs released, especially nonfluorescent ones. So it is significant to integrate both issues in one ideal drug delivery system. To achieve this, here we present a novel stimuli-responsive controlled drug delivery system toward the tumor marker survivin mRNA, using a real-time monitoring approach based on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) strategy to quantify the process of drug release. First, 7-amino-4-methlcoumarin (AMCA) dye terminated short oligonucleotide (FlareA) will hybridize with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeled long oligonucleotide (S1F), which contains a recognition element to a specific RNA transcript, to form a FRET pair capped on the pores of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs). Following a target-recognition reaction, the target with a longer strand displaces the FlareA strand to form a longer and more stable duplex with S1F, which leads to the removal of the capped oligonucleotide from the MSNs and triggers the release of the entrapped cargo while FRET between AMCA and FITC is broken. The relevant change in donor and acceptor fluorescence signal can be used to monitor the unlocking and release event in real-time. Further investigations have also demonstrated that this release system possesses the capacity of modulating the extent of drug release according to the cell states, giving the platform an equally broad spectrum of applications in anticancer therapy.

This work demonstrates an aptasensor for ultrasensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detection of thrombin based on an "off-on-off" approach. The system is composed of an Eu(3+)-doped CdS nanocrystals (CdS:Eu NCs) film on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) as ECL emitter. Then gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) labeled hairpin-DNA probe (ssDNA1) containing thrombin-binding aptamer (TBA) sequence was linked on the NCs film, which led to ECL quenching (off) as a result of Förster-resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the CdS:Eu NC film and the proximal AuNPs. Upon the occurrence of hybridization with its complementary DNA (ssDNA2), an ECL enhancement (on) occurred owing to the interactions of the excited CdS:Eu NCs with ECL-induced surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in AuNPs at large separation. Thrombin could induce ssDNA1 forming a G-quadruplex and cause the AuNPs to be close to CdS:Eu NCs film again, which resulted in an enhanced ECL quenching (off). This "off-on-off" system showed a maximum 7.4-fold change of ECL intensity due to the configuration transformation of ssDNA1 and provides great sensitivity for detection of thrombin in a wide detection range from 50 aM to 1 pM., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Continuous CaCO(3) hollow nanoparticle generation at room temperature with simultaneous molecule doping is realized on a liquid-gas dual phase microfluidic system.

A novel DNAzyme-functionalized Pt nanoparticles/carbon nanotubes (DNAzyme/Pt NPs/CNTs) bioconjugate was fabricated as trace tag for ultrasensitive sandwich DNA detection. The Pt NPs/CNTs were prepared via layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly of the Pt NPs and polyelectrolyte on the carboxylated CNTs, followed by the functionalization with the DNAzyme and reporter probe DNA through the platinum-sulfur bonding. The subsequent sandwich-type DNA specific reaction would confine numerous DNAzyme/Pt NPs/CNTs bioconjugate onto the gold electrode surface for amplifying the signal. In the presence of 3,3',5,5' tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) which could be oxidized by the DNAzyme, electrochemical signals could be generated by chronoamperometry via the interrogation of reduction electrochemical signal of oxidized TMB. The constructed DNA sensor exhibited a wide linear response to target DNA ranging from 1.0 fM to 10 pM with the detection limit down to 0.6 fM and exhibited excellent selectivity against even a single base mismatch. In addition, this novel DNA sensor showed fairly good reproducibility, stability, and reusability., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Optical thin films incorporating NaYF(4):Er,Yb upconverting nanorods and chromoionophore ETH 5418 in hydrophobic polymer matrixes have been developed for the first time to measure pH and metal ions based on the ion-exchange mechanism. The absorption spectra of protonated and unprotonated ETH 5418 overlap the two emission peaks of upconverting material, respectively, which makes the inert nanorods ion-sensitive. Optodes for pH and metal ions (Na(+), K(+), Ca(2+), and Cu(2+)) were investigated and exhibited excellent sensitivity, selectivity, and reproducibility. Because of excitation by the 980 nm laser source, detection in the near-infrared region at 656 nm, and high quantum yield of the nanorods in hydrophobic membrane, the proposed sensors have been successfully used in whole blood measurements with minimized background absorption and sample autofluorescence.

Aiming to find an alternative electrochemiluminescence (ECL) quenching route of high efficiency, biocatalytic precipitation (BCP) was firstly coupled with ECL for investigating its insulating effect on ECL. Experimental data revealed that an insulating layer could be formed via BCP onto the electrode surface, inhibiting the reaction between the coreactant and luminophore and thereby impairing the ECL emission dramatically. Since the extent of insulating effect associated strongly with analyte concentration, a new ECL biosensor was successfully realized. In a model horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-based system, the fabricated biosensor possessed high sensitivity and wide linear range from 1.0 × 10(-10)M to 1.0 × 10(-6)M for H(2)O(2) determination with a detection limit of 4 × 10(-11)M (S/N=3). This method has great potential in extending the application of ECL biosensor for various bioanalytes., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This work reports an aptasensor for ultrasensitive detection of thrombin based on remarkably efficient energy-transfer induced electrochemiluminescence (ECL) quenching from CdS:Mn nanocrystals (NCs) film to CdTe QDs-doped silica nanoparticles (CdTe/SiO(2) NPs). CdTe/SiO(2) NPs were synthesized via the Stöber method and showed black bodies' strong absorption in a wide spectral range without excitonic emission, which made them excellent ECL quenchers. Within the effective distance of energy scavenging, the ECL quenching efficiency was dependent on the number of CdTe QDs doped into the silica NPs. Using ca. 200 CdTe QDs doped silica NPs on average of 40 nm in diameter as ECL quenching labels, attomolar detection of thrombin was successfully realized. The protein detection involves a competition binding event, based on thrombin replacing CdTe/SiO(2) NPs labeled probing DNA which is hybridized with capturing aptamer immobilized on a CdS:Mn NCs film modified glassy carbon electrode surface by specific aptamer-protein affinity interactions. It results in the displacement of ECL quenching labels from CdS:Mn NCs film and concomitant ECL signal recovery. Owing to the high-content CdTe QDs in silica NP, the increment of ECL intensity (ΔI(ECL)) and the concentration of thrombin showed a double logarithmic linear correlation in the range of 5.0 aM∼5.0 fM with a detection limit of 1aM. And, the aptasensor hardly responded to antibody, bovine serum albumin (BSA), haemoglobin (Hb) and lysozyme, showing good detection selectivity for thrombin. This long-distance energy scavenging could have a promising application perspective in the detection of biological recognition events on a molecular level.

A novel and simple method for preparing cadmium sulfide nanoparticles (CdS NPs) functionalized colloidal carbon particles (CPs) has been successfully developed by in situ growing abundant CdS NPs on the surfaces of monodisperse carbon particles (CdS/CPs). The obtained CdS/CPs conjugates as signal amplification labels were further used for the ultrasensitive determination of thrombin. The CdS/CPs conjugates were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-visible absorption spectrum (UV). The protein electrical detection involves a dual binding event, based on thrombin linked to the CdS/CPs tags and glass surface by the specific aptamer-protein affinity interactions and a succedent electrochemical stripping transduction. Owing to the high-content CdS NPs on carbon particles, this assay allowed a desirable detection limit of 6.0 × 10(-17)M, which was 1000 times lower than that of only using CdS NPs as labels in the control experiments. This protocol exhibited excellent selectivity against these common proteins such as bovine plasma albumin, lysozyme and hemoglobin. The signal amplification approach proposed here provides a facile, cost-effective method for the ultrasensitive determination of thrombin in the practical samples., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this work a novel microdevice sensor has been developed by plating gold on the PDMS surface to generate a sandwich-type gap electrode for DNA detection. The microdevice utilizes a gold band electrode-PDMS-gold band electrode configuration and the minimum detectable volume could be as low as 5 μL. The 20 μm PDMS-based gap was chemically modified with DNA capture probes and DNA sandwich hybrids were formed with the addition of DNA target and silver nanoparticle probes. To increase detection sensitivity, parallel detection zones have been developed in which the relevant resistances decrease substantially upon hybridyzation. By measuring the change in electrical conductivity, the DNA target in the concentration range of 1000-0.1 nM can be assayed and the limit of lowest detectable concentration was achieved at 0.01 nM.

This work firstly reports an opto-magnetic interaction-induced enhancement of electrochemiluminescence (ECL) from CdS : Mn nanocrystals (NCs) film by superparamagnetic Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles and its application to sensitive immunosensing.

In recent years, functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have drawn continuously increasing attention due to their great potential for capturing biological molecules or species. However, functionalized MNPs as nanoextraction probes and the coupling with a separation platform for chemical analysis have not extensively investigated yet. In this study, boronate functionalized MNPs were synthesized and employed as extracting probes to capture and enrich cis-diol-containing biomolecules, and an off-line coupling method of the MNPs-based extraction with capillary electrophoresis (CE) was established by using pH junction, an on-line preconcentration technique in CE, as a bridge for the coupling. The prepared MNPs exhibited specific selectivity and sufficient capacity. The pH junction compressed a large injected sample volume into a much narrower sample zone and therefore significantly improved the detection sensitivity, solving the sensitivity mismatch between the MNPs-based extraction and CE. Experimental conditions for the pH junction and the desorption were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the sensitivity was enhanced by 42-fold as compared with regular CE. N,N-dimethylformamide was found to be an effective desorption promoter, which reduced the desorption time to a few minutes. With the established method, riboflavin in a human urine sample was determined.

Through alternative adsorption of dextran sulfate (DS) and mesoporous SnO2 (Meso-SnO2), {Meso-SnO2/DS}n films were constructed and applied for the immobilization of hemoglobin (Hb). For comparison, the same-sized non-mesoporous SnO2 nanopraticles (Nonmeso-SnO2) based films were also prepared. Thus-formed films were characterized by many techniques in detail. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS, using ferricyanide/ferrocyanide as a redox probe) experiments confirmed the charge transfer resistance increased linearly with the number of Meso-SnO2/DS bilayers, which was smaller than that of Nonmeso-SnO2/DS bilayers. Further EIS, UV-vis and AFM experiments indicate that Meso-SnO2/DS film exhibit enhanced immobilization ability of Hb with favorable orientation in comparison with that of Nonmeso-SnO2/DS film. The adsorbed Hb at Meso-SnO2/DS film showed a good direct electron transfer behavior with the heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (ks) of 8.89 +/-0.32 s(-1), and excellent electrocatalysis to the reduction of O2 and H2O2 in pH 7.0 buffers.

Direct electrochemistry of hemoglobin (Hb) was observed at glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with undoped nanocrystalline diamond (UND) and Hb multilayer films via layer-by-layer assembly. UV-VIS absorbance spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammograms were employed to characterize the film. The results showed that the UND had the effect of enhancing the electron transfer between Hb and the electrode surface. Hb in the multilayer films maintained its bioactivity and structure. It also exhibited a good catalytic activity towards the reduction of H(2)O(2). The reciprocal of catalytic current showed a linear dependence on the reciprocal of H(2)O(2) concentration ranging from 0.5 microM to 0.25 mM with a detection limit of 0.4 microM. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant was estimated to be 0.019 mM.

Mercaptoacetic acid (RSH)-capped CdS nanocrystals (NCs) was demonstrated to be electrochemically reduced during potential scan and react with the coreactant S2O8(2-) to generate strong electrochemiluminescence (ECL) in aqueous solution. Based on the ECL of CdS NCs, a novel label-free ECL biosensor for the detection of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) has been developed by using self-assembly and gold nanoparticle amplification techniques. The biosensor was prepared as follows: The gold nanoparticles were first assembled onto a cysteamine monolayer on the gold electrode surface. This gold nanoparticle-covered electrode was next treated with cysteine and then reacted with CdS NCs to afford a CdS NC-electrode. Finally, apoB-100 (ligand of LDL receptor) was covalently conjugated to the CdS NC-electrode. The modification procedure was characterized by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The resulting modified electrode was tested as ECL biosensor for LDL detection. The LDL concentration was measured through the decrease in ECL intensity resulting from the specific binding of LDL to apoB-100. The ECL peak intensity of the biosensor decreased linearly with LDL concentration in the range of 0.025-16 ng mL-1 with a detection limit of 0.006 ng mL-1. The CdS NCs not only showed high ECL intensity and good biocompatibility but also could provide more binding sites for apoB-100 loading. In addition, the gold nanoparticle amplification for protein ECL analysis was applied to the improvement of the detection sensitivity. Thus, the biosensor exhibited high sensitivity, good reproducibility, rapid response, and long-term stability.

A novel film of chitosan-gold nanoparticles is fabricated by a direct and facile electrochemical deposition method and its application in glucose biosensor is investigated. HAuCl(4) solution is mixed with chitosan and electrochemically reduced to gold nanoparticles, which can be stabilized by chitosan and electrodeposited onto glassy carbon electrode surfaces along with the electrodeposition of chitosan. Then a model enzyme, glucose oxidase (GOD) is immobilized onto the resulting film to construct a glucose biosensor through self-assembly. The resulting modified electrode surfaces are characterized with both AFM and cyclic voltammetry. Effects of chitosan and HAuCl(4) concentration in the mixture together with the deposition time and the applied voltage on the amperometric response of the biosensor are also investigated. The linear range of the glucose biosensor is from 5.0 x 10(-5) approximately 1.30 x 10(-3) M with a Michaelis-Menten constant of 3.5 mM and a detection limit of about 13 microM.

A hydrophilic poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microchip with stable electroosmotic flow (EOF) was prepared by a simple and reproducible coating procedure with silica nanoparticles. The microchannel wall of PDMS chip was coated with a layer of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and then collected silica nanoparticles. The assembly was followed by contact angle, charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging, electroosmotic flow (EOF) measurements and electrophoretic separation experiments. Contact angle measurements revealed the coated surface was hydrophilic; the water contact angle for coated chips was 64 degrees compared with a water contact angle for native PDMS chips of 113 degrees . CCD images indicated a substantially more hydrophilic microchannel than native PDMS. We carried out a comparison and concluded that the EOF values on the coated PDMS chip were close to those values on the glass chip above pH 7.0. The coated channel had an excellent stability and reproducibility, RSD of EOF values (n=6) on native and coated PDMS microchip was 1.58 and 0.57%, respectively. Separation of dopamine and epinephrine was performed on the coated chip generated 1.40 x 10(5), 1.39 x 10(5) theoretical plates/m compared with the native PDMS chip of 0.79 x 10(5), 0.88 x 10(5), high resolution of 1.7 was achieved with a channel of 3.60 cm length.

This study explores plasmon-induced electrochemical reactions on single nanoparticles using electrogenerated chemiluminescence microscopy (ECLM). Under laser irradiation, real-time screening showed lower plasmon-induced reaction efficiency for bimetallic Au@Pt nanoparticles compared to monometallic Au nanoparticles. ECLM offers a high-throughput imaging and precise quantitative approach for analyzing photo-electrochemical conversion at single nanoparticle level, valuable for both theoretical exploration and optimization of plasmonic nanocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single‐nanoparticle electrochemistry offers electrochemical behaviors of individual entities beyond the ensemble system. An electric double layer (EDL) exists on any charged particle–liquid interface because of counter‐ion accumulation, while direct measuring of the interfacial ion migration remains a challenge. Herein, a plasmonic‐based transient microscopic method, with a temporal resolution of 1–2 μs, was demonstrated to directly track the ion migration dynamics on single charged nanoparticles. We found that the dynamics of EDL formation might deviate significantly from the prediction made by using the classical resistance–capacitance (RC) model under nanoscale and transient conditions. Under ultrafast charging, due to the limit migration rate of ions in the solution, the actual time scale of the EDL formation could be up to 5 times slower than the predicted value from the RC model. We then proposed a new theoretical model to describe the transient dynamics of EDL formation. These results may expand our current knowledge about nano‐electrochemistry and transient electrochemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: SPASER nanoparticle (NP), with small size, ultranarrow spectral‐line and good biocompatibility, is a potential biomedical nanoprobe. However, owning to the striking light absorption capacity of Au‐resonator, huge energy could accumulate under strong pumping‐laser, which would lead to poor photo‐stability and unexpected photo‐damage to SPASER NP, and is harmful to its future practical application but hasn't been systematically studied in experiment. In this paper, our experimental and theoretical researches revealed that the photo‐stability of SPASER NP is largely determined by its structure parameters: smaller Au‐core diameter, thicker silica‐shell will contribute to better photo‐stability. And the possibility and extent of photo‐damage of SPASER NP depend on not only its intrinsic stability but also the external pumping‐laser. Notably, the strong pumping condition for two‐level SPASER system could lead to heating‐melting‐evaporation or even phase‐explosion of SPASER NP, resulting in obvious photo‐damage, while, the weak pumping condition for three‐level SPASER system is quite friendly. This study provides reliable bases for the structural‐properties optimization of SPASER NPs, which is of great significance for its future application as a novel luminescence probe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we report a reflection‐mode total internal reflection microscopy (TIRM) to measure the extinction spectrum of individual dielectric, plasmonic, or light‐absorbing nanoparticles, and to differentiate absorption and scattering components from the total optical output. These capabilities were enabled via illuminating the sample with evanescent wave of which the lightpath length was comparable with the size of single nanoparticles, leading to a dramatically improved reflectance change (ΔI/I0) up to tens of percent. It was further found that scattering and absorption of light contributed to bright and dark centroids, respectively, in the optical patterns of single nanoparticles, allowing to distinguish scattering and absorption components from the extinction spectrum by the use of an appropriate image processing method. In addition, wide‐field feature of TIRM enabled the studies on tens of nanoparticles simultaneously with gentle illumination. Nanoparticles, saved from extinction: An ultrathin (ca. 100 nm) evanescent wave is used to illuminate single nano‐objects (Iin) and to collect the reflected light (Iout). This total internal reflection‐based extinction spectroscopy (TIRES) extracts the extinction spectrum from the wavelength‐dependent TIR patterns of a single nanoparticle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single nanoparticle collision (SNC) technology has attracted increasing attention to explore single nanoparticle electrochemistry. By improving the temporal resolution of electrochemical recording, several recent studies have uncovered the intermittent electron transfer processes during the SNC of single silver nanoparticles. The electrode current curve displayed multiple current peaks that were completely separated, instead of a single peak. In the present work, we employed surface plasmon resonance microscopy to monitor the collision and oxidation processes of single silver nanoparticles. Simultaneous optical and electrochemical recordings provided comprehensive capability to correlate the physical movement of nanoparticles (from optical signal) and the electron transfer activity (from electrochemical signal). While previous studies hypothesized the physical detachment of nanoparticles from the electrode due to electrostatic repulsion or Brownian motion, the optical imaging revealed that nanoparticles often remained in physical touch with the electrode even though no electron transfer was occurring. These results demonstrated that the electrical contact between nanoparticle and electrode, which could be rather stochastic due to thermal motion and micro‐convection, played critical roles in regulating the multi‐peak behavior of single silver nanoparticles. In touch: surface plasmon resonance microscopy is utilized to monitor collision and oxidation processes of single silver nanoparticles. Simultaneous optical and electrochemical recordings reveal that nanoparticles often remain in physical touch with the electrode even though no electron transfer is occurring. The electrical contact plays critical roles in regulating the multi‐peak behavior of single silver nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallophthalocyanine (MPc) and its derivatives are well known as electrocatalysts to catalyze oxidation or reduction of some species, such as cysteine, nitric oxide. Their nanosized particles may display the potential optics, electronic, catalytic, and structural properties. In this paper, carbon paste electrodes (CPE) modified with nanosized cobalt phthalocyanine (Nano-CoPc) particles (Nano-CoPc-CPE) are fabricated. The electrocatalytic oxidation of theophylline (THP) on the Nano-CoPc-CPE is investigated by means of differential pulse voltammetry. The Nano-CoPc particles perform better electrocatalytic activity to THP, the response current enhanced about 3.4 times compared to bulk CoPc-modified CPE (B-CoPC-CPE). On optimal conditions, there is a good linear relationship between anodic peak current and THP concentration in the range of 4.0 × 10−7–1.0 × 10−4 mol L−1 with the detection limit of 1.4 × 10−7 mol L−1 (S/N = 3). The current responses of successive 40 measurements at the identical surface and at the renewed ones of Nano-CoPc-CPE are examined with relative standard deviation of 2.1% and 3.5%, respectively. It indicates that the electrode shows a good stability and reproducibility. It can be used to determine THP in tea and drug without separation from the matrix. The possible electrocatalytic mechanism is investigated by means of electrochemical method and UV/VIS spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel nano-sized copper oxide modified carbon paste electrode has been fabricated to determine the amikacin by cyclic voltammetry and amperometry. The oxidation current of the amikacin on nano-sized copper oxide modified carbon paste electrode was about 40 times higher than that on bulk CuO modified carbon paste electrode. The curve of i vs. concentration was linear in the range of 2–200 µM of the amikacin concentration with a correlation coefficient of 0.998. The detection limit was ca. 1 µM of amikacin with the signal to noise ratio of 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An electrochemical immunosensor has been constructed by the self-assemble technique and studied by the AC impedance and potential method respectively. The change of the surface impedance shows that the antibody can be assembled on the electrode surface and recognize the antigen. The gold nanoparticles are not only used to immobilize the CRP antibody, but also can amplify the potential response. The immunosensor responds to antigen in the linear range from 5 to 25 µg/mL and can meet the needs of clinical assay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work firstly reports an opto–magnetic interaction–induced enhancement of electrochemiluminescence (ECL) from CdS : Mn nanocrystals (NCs) film by superparamagnetic Fe3O4nanoparticles and its application to sensitive immunosensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single nanoparticle extinction spectra can be quantitatively measured via near‐field evanescent wave illumination to enhance the light–matter interaction. In their Communication on page 572 ff., W. Wang et al. propose a total internal reflection‐based extinction spectroscopy (TIRES) to extract rich spectroscopic information of dielectric, plasmonic, or light‐absorbing nanomaterials from their wavelength‐dependent images, and distinguish the involved absorption and scattering components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We report on the formation of colloidal biocomposites resulting from the electrostatic self-assembly of negatively charged lactate oxidase (LOD) and oppositely charged nanoscaled cobalt phthalocyanine (NanoCoPc) colloid under enzyme-friendly conditions. The biocomposites were further used to fabricate lactate biosensors due to their excellent film-forming ability and strong adsorbability on the surface of glassy carbon electrode. The electrochemical assays of such films revealed a large capacity of NanoCoPc for the retention of LOD. Here, NanoCoPc colloid was not only used as carriers for immobilization of LOD, but also displayed intrinsic electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of H2O2, a product of enzymatic reaction. A chitosan film containing MnO2 nanoparticles was further electrodeposited as an external layer, which could effectively eliminate the interference from ascorbic acid. Under optimal conditions, the biosensor showed a wide linear response to lactate in the range of 0.020–4.0mM, with high sensitivity (3.98μAcm−2 mM−1), as well as good reproducibility and long-term stability. The biosensor has been used for the determination of lactate in real samples with an acceptable accuracy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This report described proteins modification of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microfluidic chip based on layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly technique for enhancing separation efficiency. Two kinds of protein-coated films were prepared. One was obtained by successively immobilizing the cationic polyelectrolyte (chitosan, Chit), gold nanoparticles (GNPs), and protein (albumin, Albu) to the PDMS microfluidic channels surface. The other was achieved by sequentially coating lysozyme (Lys) and Albu. Neurotransmitters (dopamine, DA; epinephrine, EP) and environmental pollutants (p-phenylenediamine, p-PDA; 4-aminophenol, 4-AP; hydroquinone, HQ) as two groups of separation models were studied to evaluate the effect of the functional PDMS microfluidic chips. The results clearly showed these analytes were efficiently separated within 140s in a 3.7cm long separation channel and successfully detected with in-channel amperometric detection mode. Experimental parameters in two protocols were optimized in detail. The detection limits of DA, EP, p-PDA, 4-AP, and HQ were 2.0, 4.7, 8.1, 12.3, and 14.8μM (S/N=3) on the Chit–GNPs–Albu coated PDMS/PDMS microchip, and 1.2, 2.7, 7.2, 9.8, and 12.2μM (S/N=3) on the Lys–Albu coated one, respectively. In addition, through modification, the more homogenous channel surface displayed higher reproducibility and better stability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]