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Surgical resection remains the preferred approach for some patients with glioblastoma (GBM), and eradication of the residual tumour niche after surgical resection is very helpful for prolonging patient survival. However, complete surgical resection of invasive GBM is difficult because of its ambiguous boundary. Herein, a novel targeting material, c(RGDyk)-poloxamer-188, was synthesized by modifying carboxyl-terminated poloxamer-188 with a glioma-targeting cyclopeptide, c(RGDyk). Quantum dots (QDs) as fluorescent probe were encapsulated into the self-assembled c(RGDyk)-poloxamer-188 polymer nanoparticles (NPs) to construct glioma-targeted QDs-c(RGDyk)NP for imaging-guided surgical resection of GBM. QDs-c(RGDyk)NP exhibited a moderate hydrodynamic diameter of 212.4 nm, a negative zeta potential of –10.1 mV and good stability. QDs-c(RGDyk)NP exhibited significantly lower toxicity against PC12 and C6 cells and HUVECs than free QDs. Moreover, in vitro cellular uptake experiments demonstrated that QDs-c(RGDyk)NP specifically targeted C6 cells, making them display strong fluorescence. Combined with ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD), QDs-c(RGDyk)NP specifically accumulated in glioma tissue in orthotropic tumour rats after intravenous administration, evidenced by ex vivo NIR fluorescence imaging of bulk brain and glioma tissue sections. Furthermore, fluorescence imaging with QDs-c(RGDyk)NP guided accurate surgical resection of glioma. Finally, the safety of QDs-c(RGDyk)NP was verified using pathological HE staining. In conclusion, QDs-c(RGDyk)NP may be a potential imaging probe for imaging-guided surgery.

A non-planar tetraphenylethylene-functionalized salicylaldehyde Schiff-base fluorescent probe (TPE-An-Py) with aggregation-induced enhanced emission (AIEE) characteristics was synthesized via a classical Knoevenagel condensation reaction, and exhibited a high sensitivity towards copper ions in aqueous media with a “turn-off” fluorescence mechanism; the limit of detection is 2.36 × 10−7 mol L−1. Importantly, the coordination mode of the probe towards copper was further evaluated by UV-vis and NMR spectroscopy and a 1 : 2 stoichiometry was identified. A single crystal X-ray diffraction study confirmed the binding mode. In addition, the AIEE fluorescent probe can be applied to the detection of Cu2+ in practical samples with satisfactory recoveries in a range of 106–111% in lake water and 97–108% in tap water.

Three undescribed bicyclo[3.2.1]octanoid neolignan glucosides, along with a known neolignan, were isolated from the leaves of Piper crocatum Ruiz &amp, Pav. Their chemical structures were elucidated using extensive spectroscopic analyses including 1D and 2D NMR experiments and HR-ESI-MS analysis, as well as through comparison with previously reported data. Two compounds were assessed for their inhibitory effect against pyruvate dehydrogenase E1α S300 phosphorylation. The fluorescent image suggested that both compounds (60 µM) revealed a stronger inhibition effect than the positive control (dichloroacetate, DCA 5 mM), with IC50 values of 99.82 µM and 80.25 µM, respectively.

A novel turn-on fluorescence probe L has been designed that exhibits high selectivity and sensitivity with a detection limit of 9.53 × 10−8 mol/L for the quantification of Zn2+. 1H-NMR spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the unsymmetrical nature of the structure of the Schiff base probe L. An emission titration experiment in the presence of different molar fractions of Zn2+ was used to perform a Job’s plot analysis. The results showed that the stoichiometric ratio of the complex formed by L and Zn2+ was 1:1. Moreover, the molecular structure of the mononuclear Cu complex reveals one ligand L coordinates with one Cu atom in the asymmetric unit. On adding CuCl2 to the ZnCl2/L system, a Cu-Zn complex was formed and a strong quenching behavior was observed, which inferred that the Cu2+ displaced Zn2+ to coordinate with the imine nitrogen atoms and hydroxyl oxygen atoms of probe L.

A novel 1-hydroxy-2,4-diformylnaphthalene-based fluorescent probe L was synthesized by a Knoevenagel reaction and exhibited excellent sensitivity and selectivity towards sulfite ions (SO32−) and bisulfite ions (HSO3−). The detection limits of the probe L were 0.24 μM using UV-Vis spectroscopy and 9.93 nM using fluorescence spectroscopy, respectively. Furthermore, the fluorescent probe L could be utilized for detection in real water samples with satisfactory recoveries in the range 99.20%~104.30% in lake water and 100.00%~104.80% in tap water by UV-Vis absorption spectrometry, and in the range 100.50%~108.60% in lake water and 102.70%~103.80% in tap water by fluorescence spectrophotometry.

Ultrasensitive determination of some ultra-low abundance biological molecules closely related to diseases is currently a wide concern and urgent issue to be addressed. Here, a spherical poly(acrylic acid)–alkaline phosphatase (SP–AKP) signal amplification block using spherical poly(acrylic acid) brush nanoparticles (SP) as the immobilized carriers was designed and synthesized optimally first. The results show that a single SP–AKP with high enzyme binding capacity and high catalytic ability (up to about 4800 effective free AKP per SP–AKP) has much greater fluorescence signal amplification ability than a single free AKP or SiO2–COOH–AKP. Then, a droplet generation microfluidic chip was prepared successfully, and the SP–AKP was loaded and confined in a 14 pL droplet by adjusting its concentration to ensure at most one SP–AKP was encapsulated in each droplet according to Poisson's theory. Finally, the fluorescence signals produced by 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate (4-MUP) catalyzed via SP–AKP within 6 min were sufficient to be detected by a fluorescence microscope. Thus, the digital signal distribution of “1/0” (signal/background) was obtained, making this SP–AKP signal amplification block a promising enzyme label for potential high sensitivity digital biological detection applications.

Luminescent metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been extensively investigated as sensors for detection of various compounds. In this work, 5,5',5''-((benzene-1,3,5-tricarbonyl)tris(azanediyl))triisophthalic acid (H6L) and 1,3,5-tri(1H-imidazol-1-yl)benzene (tib) were reacted with Cd(NO3)2·4H2O under solvothermal conditions to generate a MOF [Cd3(H2O)3(L)(tib)2]·5DMA·4H2O (1) (DMA = N,N-dimethylacetamide). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that 1 is a 2-fold interpenetrated three-dimensional framework composed of Cd-L and Cd-tib two-dimensional networks. Furthermore, its fluorescence and sensing capability towards common organic compounds were explored. The results indicate that 1 could function as a fluorescent probe for nitro-aromatic compounds, especially for 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) and 4-nitrophenol (4-NP).

The interaction of trypsin with acteoside was studied using ultraviolet visible absorption, fluorescence, synchronous fluorescence, circular dichroism techniques, along with molecular docking method. The fluorescence experiments indicated that acteoside quenched the intrinsic fluorescence of trypsin via a combined quenching process (static and dynamic quenching). The binding constant of acteoside to trypsin obtained was 2.50 × 105 L mol−1 at 298 K and the number of binding site was about one under the same experimental condition. The thermodynamic functions ΔH° and ΔS° of the binding process were 8.79 kJ mol−1 and 132.58 J mol−1 K−1, respectively, which indicated that the hydrophobic force was the main acting force between them. Ultraviolet–visible, synchronous fluorescence together with circular dichroism spectra studies demonstrated that the interaction of acteoside with trypsin lead to a loosening and unfolding of the protein backbone with partial β-sheet structures being transformed into α-helix structures. All these experimental results were validated and explained reasonably by docking studies. And the molecular docking results further illustrated that besides hydrophobic forces, hydrogen bonds also played an important role in the stabilization of the acteoside–trypsin complex. Results from this study should be helpful to make full use of acteoside in the food industry and be useful to the design of the drugs for the diseases related to trypsin.

A new colorimetric and fluorescence molecular chemosensor based on triazole hydrazone can be used as a multi-probe for selective detection of Al3+, Zn2+, and Cu2+ by monitoring changes in the absorption and fluorescence spectral patterns. Results show that Al3+ and Zn2+ ions can induce remarkable fluorescence enhancement at pH 6.0 and pH 10.0, respectively, while the addition of Cu2+ ions leads to a significant UV-visible absorption enhancement in the visible range at pH 6.0. In addition, the resultant Al3+ complex could act as an ‘on–off’ fluorescence sensor for F−. The fluorescence sensor was also used to monitor intracellular Al3+, Zn2+, and F− in Hela cells.

An aniline-functionalized naphthalene dialdehyde Schiff base fluorescent probe L with aggregation-induced enhanced emission (AIEE) characteristics was synthesized via a simple one-step condensation reaction and exhibited excellent sensitivity and selectivity towards copper(II) ions in aqueous media with a fluorescence “ turn-off ” phenomenon. The detection limit of the probe is 1.64 × 10−8 mol·L−1. Furthermore, according to the results of the UV-vis/fluorescence titrations, Job’s plot method and 1H-NMR titrations, a 1:2 stoichiometry was identified. The binding constant between L and Cu2+ was calculated to be Ka = 1.222 × 103. In addition, the AIEE fluorescent probe L could be applied to detection in real water samples with satisfactory recoveries in the range 99.10–102.90% in lake water and 98.49–102.37% in tap water.

A rhodamine derivative (R1) has been synthesized by an additive reaction of rhodamine 6G hydrazide with methyl 2-isothiocyanatobenzoate, which exhibits high selectivity and sensitivity as a fluorescent sensor toward Cu2+ under physiological conditions. The detection limit of Cu2+ ion is 47.2 nM. Moreover, R1 could sense Cu2+ by “naked eye” with a color change from colorless to pink. This selective signaling behavior is not affected by other canions that might be present in the environmental samples. The application of the fluorescent sensor in monitoring intracellular Cu2+ in HeLa cells was also demonstrated.

A strong and stable fluorescent signal is the crux for the ultrasensitive biodetection technology, conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs) as new fluorescence labels have attracted more and more attention for their excellent optical properties. However, a systematic understanding of the size-dependent optical properties of CPNs with diameters from the nano to submicron ranges is lacking, which is the most important issue when choosing label materials. Hence, poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-(1,4-benzo-{2,1′,3}-thiadiazole)] (PFBT) nanoparticles with sizes from 50 nm to 200 nm were synthesized and studied. It was demonstrated that the spectroscopic and fluorescent properties are similar for CPNs with different sizes. The relationship between single-particle brightness and diameter was investigated via fluorescence spectrometry and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), and the results presented that the single-particle brightness increased quadratically with the increase of the diameter of CPNs. This research may provide valuable support to further application of CPNs in biological diagnostics.

In this work, a simple, low-cost and one-step microwave approach has been demonstrated for the synthesis of water-soluble carbon dots (C-dots). The average size of the resulting C-dots is about 4 nm. From the photoluminescence (PL) measurements, the C-dots exhibit excellent biocompatibility and intense PL with the high quantum yield (QY) at Ca. 25%. Significantly, the C-dots have excellent biocompatibility and the capacity to specifically target the cells overexpressing the folate receptor (FR). These exciting results indicate the as-prepared C-dots are promising biocompatible probe for cancer diagnosis and treatment.

A new C3v-symmetric hexahomotrioxacalix[3]arene L bearing pyrene moieties as fluorophores has been designed and synthesized. L exhibits a significant fluorescence quenching response to I− even when in the presence of other potentially competing anions. There is a good linear relationship between the fluorescence intensity and the concentration of I− over the range 0–100 μM and the detection limit was calculated to be as low as 164 nM. Ligand L can serve as a fluorescent chemosensor for the highly selective, sensitive, and rapid detection of I−.

A novel chromogenic and fluorescent sensor based on semiacenaphthenofluorescein (Probe 1) was designed and synthesized. This probe exhibited superior selectivity and sensitivity for cysteine (Cys) over other analogues, such as homocysteine and glutathione, and the corresponding detection limit was 0.086 μM, which was much lower than intracellular concentration. The tandem conjugate addition/cyclization sequence mechanism was revealed by mass spectrometry, 1H NMR examination and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Finally, the results of photostability, cell imaging and viability assays showed that the probe possessed excellent membrane permeability, hypotoxicity and fluorescent imaging of cysteine, which indicated its potential applications in living cells.

Multiplexed detection of nucleic acids is important for pathogen identification and disease diagnosis. Though real-time quantitative PCR allows for simultaneous amplification of different genes in a single test, the interferences between various primers inevitably cause difficulty in assay design, and pose limitation on multiplexing degree. Conventional solid-phase PCR (SP-PCR) on plenary microarrays can assess more targets than real-time quantitative PCR. However, they are suffering from low reaction efficiency, high background noise, and requiring special equipment and expertise for reliable analysis. Here, we addressed the challenges by performing multiplex PCR on thermostable, tailor-made host-guest encoded magnetic microspheres (Beads based PCR, BB-PCR), which were constructed by coupling magnetic host microspheres with fluorescent guest nanoparticles. As proof of concept, a 3-plex barcoded microbeads with high thermostability and low non-specific fluorescence absorption were selected as model BB-PCR carriers to amplify and detect three gene targets in Salmonella Enteritidis. After BB-PCR reaction, the barcoding and reporting signals were easily identified through flow cytometry. Attributed to the effective interactions between reagents and microspheres during PCR reaction, this method showed high sensitivity of 10 copies/reaction, which was comparable to that of liquid PCR. Thus, BB-PCR developed here allowed for simple, rapid, highly sensitive and high throughput detection of nucleic acid targets, which paves the way for routine multiplexed molecular diagnostics in clinical laboratories.

Seven compounds with pyridine as the backbone modified by carbazole moiety, bromine atom and fluorine atom were synthesized. Compounds 1, 2, 3 with bromo substitution at the 2-position and carbazole modification at the 5-position of pyridine emit not only a sharp blue singlet fluorescence but also a wide banded excimer-based orange emission. The two colors coming from a single molecule can be used to fabricate a simplified white light emitting device. The electroluminescence based on 1 and 2 exhibits white-light emission with CIE coordinates of x = 0.25 and y = 0.30 for 1 and x = 0.33 and y = 0.37 for 2 at high current densities, very close to pure white emission. In addition, the role of bromo-substitution at pyridine is concluded to be essential to generate molecular interaction thus an excimer emission.

This paper developed and evaluated a quantitative image analysis method to measure the concentration of the nanoparticles on which alkaline phosphatase (AP) was immobilized. These AP-labeled nanoparticles are widely used as signal markers for tagging biomolecules at nanometer and sub-nanometer scales. The AP-labeled nanoparticle concentration measurement can then be directly used to quantitatively analyze the biomolecular concentration. Micro-droplets are mono-dispersed micro-reactors that can be used to encapsulate and detect AP-labeled nanoparticles. Micro-droplets include both empty micro-droplets and fluorescent micro-droplets, while fluorescent micro-droplets are generated from the fluorescence reaction between the APs adhering to a single nanoparticle and corresponding fluorogenic substrates within droplets. By detecting micro-droplets and calculating the proportion of fluorescent micro-droplets to the overall micro-droplets, we can calculate the AP-labeled nanoparticle concentration. The proposed micro-droplet detection method includes the following steps: (1) Gaussian filtering to remove the noise of overall fluorescent targets, (2) a contrast-limited, adaptive histogram equalization processing to enhance the contrast of weakly luminescent micro-droplets, (3) an red maximizing inter-class variance thresholding method (OTSU) to segment the enhanced image for getting the binary map of the overall micro-droplets, (4) a circular Hough transform (CHT) method to detect overall micro-droplets and (5) an intensity-mean-based thresholding segmentation method to extract the fluorescent micro-droplets. The experimental results of fluorescent micro-droplet images show that the average accuracy of our micro-droplet detection method is 0.9586; the average true positive rate is 0.9502; and the average false positive rate is 0.0073. The detection method can be successfully applied to measure AP-labeled nanoparticle concentration in fluorescence microscopy.

The interaction between bovine serum albumin (BSA) and the cobalt(II) complex with salicylaldehyde-2-phenylquinoline-4-carboylhydrazone (Co-SPC) was investigated using fluorescence spectroscopy, UV absorption, and circular dichroism (CD) under simulated physiologic conditions for the first time. Fluorescence data and UV absorption spectra revealed that the intrinsic fluorescence of BSA was strongly quenched by Co-SPC in terms of a static quenching process at a lower concentration of the complex and a combined quenching process at a higher concentration of the complex. Binding constants and binding sites were evaluated. The average binding distance between Co-SPC and BSA was obtained (2.28 nm) on the basis of Förster's theory. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that hydrophobic force played a major role in the binding. The binding of Co-SPC to BSA leads to changes in the conformation of BSA according to synchronous fluorescence spectra and CD data.

The interactions of a metal complex [Ru(phen)(2)PMIP](2+) {Ru=ruthenium, phen=1,10-phenanthroline, PMIP=2-(4-methylphenyl)imidazo[4,5-f]1,10-phenanthroline} with yeast tRNA and calf thymus DNA (CT DNA) have been investigated comparatively by UV-vis spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, viscosity measurements, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), as well as equilibrium dialysis and circular dichroism (CD). Spectroscopic studies together with ITC and viscosity measurements indicate that both binding modes of the Ru(II) polypyridyl complex to yeast tRNA and CT DNA are intercalation and yeast tRNA binding of the complex is stronger than CT DNA binding. ITC experiments show that the interaction of the complex with yeast tRNA is driven by a moderately favorable enthalpy decrease in combination with a moderately favorable entropy increase, while the binding of the complex to CT DNA is driven by a large favorable enthalpy decrease with a less favorable entropy increase. The results from equilibrium dialysis and CD suggest that both interactions are enantioselective and the Delta enantiomer of the complex may bind more favorably to both yeast tRNA and CT DNA than the Lambda enantiomer does, and that the complex is a better candidate for an enantioselective binder to yeast tRNA than to CT DNA. Taken together, these results indicate that the structures of nucleic acids have significant effects on the binding behaviors of metal complexes.

Two binuclear complexes [Cu2(IA)4(DMSO)2]·CH3OH (1), [Cd2(IA)2(phen)2I2] (2), and one 1-D {[Pb2(IA)4]·CH3OH}n (3) (IAH = indole-3-acetic acid, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) have been prepared and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Both 1 and 2 are binuclear wherein the central Cu ions are bridged by IA in 1, while Cd ions are bridged by I− in 2. Complex 3 has a 1-D chain structure based on secondary building units (SBUs) of [Pb2(IA)4]. The three complexes show strong fluorescence emissions, and chemosensor behaviors for metal cations are investigated in mixed DMF/H2O (1 : 9 v/v) solvent. The results reveal that 2 shows effective sensing to Pb2+. The mechanism of the detection to Pb2+ can be attributed to cation-exchange reaction between cadmium and lead ions.

Continuous monitoring of submillisecond free-solution dynamics of individual rhodamine-6G molecules and 30-base single-stranded DNA tagged with rhodamine was achieved. Fluorescence images were recorded from the same set of isolated molecules excited either through the evanescent field at the quartz-liquid interface or as a thin layer of solution defined by micron-sized wires, giving diffraction-limited resolution of interconnected attoliter volume elements. The single-molecule diffusion coefficients were smaller and the unimolecular photodecomposition lifetimes were longer for the dye-DNA covalent complex as compared with those of the dye molecule itself. Unlike bulk studies, stochastic behavior was found for individual molecules of each type, and smaller diffusion coefficients were observed.

A new complex, manganese(II) azide complex with N-methylimidazole, has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectra and single crystal X-ray studies. Absorption spectroscopy, emission spectroscopy, viscosity measurements and CD spectroscopy have been used to investigate the binding of the complex with calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA). The intrinsic binding constant K b of the complex with DNA was obtained by electronic absorption titration; the value is consistent with the result by fluorescence titration method. The spectroscopic studies together with viscosity measurements support the claim that the title complex bonds to CT-DNA by a groove mode. Control cleavage experiments using pBR 322 plasmid DNA which suggest minor groove binding for the complex.

A magnetic beads based immunoaffinity capillary electrophoresis method for total Immunoglobulin E quantification in serum has been developed. The method combines speed, automation ability, and minimal sample consumption. Only 1 microL of serum is required while the whole immunoaffinity capillary electrophoresis method is performed in less than 50 min. The concomitant use of online immunocapture, transient isotachophoresis, and laser-induced fluorescence detection provides a sensitivity in the low picomolar range and a highly linear fluorescence response over 4 orders of magnitude (IgE concentration ranging from 2.4 to 2400 ng/mL). After validation with a reference material, the method has been successfully applied to the quantification of total IgEs in patient sera. The results compared well with classical ImmunoCap data.