Quenching of Upconversion Nanoparticle Fluorescence for Tetracyclines Detection.

A long-term prescription of tetracyclines in course dosages is widely applicable for treating bacterial infections such as malaria, cholera, and syphilis. This work aims to optimize the sensing method of tetracyclines using modified upconversion nanoparticles conjugated with tetracycline aptamers in a microtiter plate method. A fluorescence-based spectrophotometer is used to optimize the concentration of tetracyclines relative to their fluorescence quenching readings. The decrease in fluorescence intensity of upconversion nanoparticles when exposed to tetracyclines indicates a possible enhancement in detection sensitivity, with an estimated increase of around ~ 0.1 nM concentration. With the help of tetracycline aptamer conjugated upconversion nanoparticles, we developed a low toxic, susceptible, cost-effective, and simple method for tetracyclines detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]