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Gold and Silver Fluorescent Nanomaterials as Emerging Probes for Toxic and Biochemical Sensors

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Metal Nanoparticles and Clusters

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Abstract

A high percentage of deaths per year worldwide are caused by environmental pollution. It is well known that excessive usage of toxic chemicals including heavy metal ions, pesticides, other food toxins, etc. leads to adverse effect to living organisms and contributing to biodiversity losses and severe damage to the environment. Thus, the detection of toxic compounds with high sensitivity and specificity in real time is essential nowadays. For the past few decades, the development of chemical sensors have received much attention due to the sensitivity and selectivity achieved, possibility of in situ monitorization with rapid response, low cost, simple instrumental setup, etc. Traditionally, the use of organic dyes such as cyanine, fluorescein, etc. or more recently the use of semiconductor quantum dots and upconverting nanoparticles has been employed as fluorophores in order to generate optical sensors. However, these fluorophores have certain limitations such as poor photostability, large particle size, or poor water solubility. On the other hand, metal nanoclusters (NCs) and nanodots (NDs) show strong luminescence with high photostability, large Stokes shifts, and good aqueous solubility and biocompatibility. It is well known that the size of metal nanoclusters is comparable to the Fermi wavelength of electrons (∼0.7 nm), giving rise to molecular-like properties and size-dependent fluorescence from visible to near-infrared range. These novel properties have been exploited in the field of chemical and biochemical sensing, bioimaging, electronic device fabrication, clean energy storage, etc.

In this chapter, we briefly summarize the most common synthesis procedures and recent progress of luminescent Ag/AuNCs and NDs. Their application for chemical and biochemical sensing is also collected, paying special attention to the detection of toxic heavy metals (including mercury, lead, copper, chromium, arsenic, etc.), toxic ions (such as cyanide, sulfide, etc.), biological compounds (cysteine, tyrosine, cysteamine, glutathione, glucose, H2O2, etc.), drugs (mercaptopurine, penicillamine, clioquinol, antibiotics, etc.) and some other interesting molecules (salicylaldehyde, poly diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride, sodium dodecyl sulfate), toxic contaminants (tea polyphenols, melamine, bisphenol A, etc.), and pathogenic bacteria.

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Abbreviations

AB:

Amido black 10B

AChE:

Acetylcholinesterase

ACTI:

S-acetylthiocholine iodide

AgNCs:

Silver nanoclusters

AgNDs:

Silver nanodots

ALP:

Alkaline phosphatase

AP:

Apoferritin

APTES:

(3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane

AuNCs:

Gold nanoclusters

AuNDs:

Gold nanodots

AuNRs:

Gold nanorods

BPA:

Bisphenol A

BSA:

Bovine serum albumin

C-dots:

Carbon dots

cfu/mL:

Colony-forming unit per milliliter

ChOx:

Cholesterol oxidase

CK2:

Protein kinase II

CSFs:

Cerebrospinal fluids

dBSA:

Denatured BSA

DHLA:

Dihydroxylipoic acid

DNA:

Deoxyribonucleic acid

ds:

Double stranded

E. coli :

Escherichia coli bacteria

EDC:

1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide

EDTA:

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

eV:

Electron volt

FITC:

Fluorescein isothiocyanate

FRET:

Forster resonance energy transfer

GOD:

Glucose oxidase

GSH:

Glutathione

GST:

Glutathione S-transferase

h:

Hours

HAS:

Human serum albumin

HH:

Human hemoglobin

HOCl:

Hypochlorous acid

HOMO:

Highest occupied molecular orbital

L-AAO:

L-amino acid oxidase

L-DOPA:

L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine

LED:

Light-emitting diode

LOD:

Lowest detection limit

LUMO:

Lowest unoccupied molecular orbital

Man:

11-mercapto-3,6,9-trioxaundecyl-r-D-mannopyranoside

μg:

Microgram

MIP:

Molecular-imprinted polymer

mL:

Milliliter

μm:

Micrometer

mM:

Millimolar

MRSA:

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

NAD+ :

Oxidization form of NADH

NADH:

1,4-dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide

NCs:

Nanoclusters

NDs:

Nanodots

NHS:

N-Hydroxysuccinimide

NIR:

Near infrared

nm:

Nanometer

nM:

Nanomolar

PBS:

Phosphate buffer solution

PDDA:

Poly diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride

PDMAM:

Poly(N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide)

PPi:

Pyrophosphate

QY:

Quantum yield

S.E.M:

Standard error measurements

SEM:

Scanning electron microscope

SPEET:

Surface plasmon-enhanced energy transfer

ss:

Single stranded

TEM:

Transmission electron microscopy

TEOS:

Tetraethyl orthosilicate

THPC:

Tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium chloride

TMB:

3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine

TNT:

2,4,6-trinitrotoluene

US EPA:

US environmental protection agency

UV:

Ultraviolet

UV-vis:

Ultraviolet-visible

λem :

Emission wavelength

λex :

Excitation wavelength

μM:

Micromolar

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  1. INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Av. Mestre José Veiga, 4715-330, Braga, Portugal

    Nagamalai Vasimalai & Maria T. Fernandez-Argüelles

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    Francis Leonard Deepak

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Vasimalai, N., Fernandez-Argüelles, M.T. (2018). Gold and Silver Fluorescent Nanomaterials as Emerging Probes for Toxic and Biochemical Sensors. In: Deepak, F. (eds) Metal Nanoparticles and Clusters. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68053-8_9

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