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Paper-based device for the selective determination of doxycycline antibiotic based on the turn-on fluorescence of bovine serum albumin–coated copper nanoclusters

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Abstract

An enhanced ratiometric fluorescence sensor was built for on-site visual detection of doxycycline (DOX) through the interaction with bovine serum albumin on the surface of red emissive copper nanoclusters. Upon the addition of weakly fluorescent DOX, the red fluorescence from copper nanoclusters gradually decreased through the inner-filter effect (IFE), while a green fluorescence appears and significantly increases, forming an interesting fluorescent isosbestic point, which was assigned to DOX due to sensitization effect of bovine serum albumin. On the basis of this ratiometric fluorescence, the system possessed good limit of detection (LOD) of 45 nM and excellent selectivity for DOX over other tetracyclines. Based on these findings, a paper-based sensor has been fabricated for distinct visual detection of trace DOX and combined with smartphone color recognizer for quantitative detection of DOX (LOD = 83 nM). This method shows broad application prospects in environmental monitoring and food safety.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U21A20290, 82001957) and the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2022A1515011656).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Pollution Processes and Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming, 525000, People’s Republic of China

    Yiming Bu, Ranhao Yin, Long Yu, Pengchen Su & Suhua Wang

  2. Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), Singapore, 138634, Singapore

    Zibiao Li, Enyi Ye, Xian Jun Loh & Houjuan Zhu

  3. Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2), A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), Singapore, 138634, Singapore

    Zibiao Li & Enyi Ye

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  1. Yiming Bu
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Bu, Y., Yin, R., Yu, L. et al. Paper-based device for the selective determination of doxycycline antibiotic based on the turn-on fluorescence of bovine serum albumin–coated copper nanoclusters. Microchim Acta 189, 415 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-022-05509-w

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