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The biological microenvironment includes important parameters such as viscosity, polarity, temperature, oxygen content and pH. In particular, abnormal cell viscosity is associated with the development of major diseases. Sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) serves not only as an essential atmospheric pollutant but also an influential signalling molecule in biological cells, predisposing individuals to increased respiratory disease. In this work, we designed and synthesized a novel fluorescent probe CouCN-V&S with dual response to micro environmental viscosity and SO 2 . The probe monitored viscosity and SO 2 separately through dual emission channels with a difference of 135 nm. The probe responded sensitively to SO 2 (<1s) and exhibited satisfactory immunity to interference and pH stability. The probe was successfully applied to imaging cellular, intra-zebrafish viscosity and SO 2 changes. Interestingly, we took onion epidermal cells as model and explored the capability of probe CouCN-V&S to image SO 2 in plant cells for the first time., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) gas, which can effectively prohibit the growth of pathogenic microorganisms, has been internationally used in commercial food packaging to maintain high-quality food and reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses. However, the current mainstream methods for SO 2 detection are either large and expensive instruments or synthesized chemical-based labels, which are not suitable for large-scale gas detection in food packaging. Recently, we discovered that petunia dye (PD), which is extracted from natural petunia flowers, demonstrates a highly sensitive colorimetric response to SO 2 gas with its total color difference (Δ E ) modulation reaching up to 74.8 and detection limit down to 1.52 ppm. To apply the extracted petunia dye in smart packaging for real-time gas sensing and food-quality prediction, a flexible and freestanding PD-based SO 2 detection label is prepared by incorporating PD in biopolymers and assembling the films through a layer-by-layer approach. The developed label is utilized to predict grapes' quality and safety by monitoring the embedded SO 2 gas concentration. The developed colorimetric SO 2 detection label could potentially be used as an intelligent gas sensor for food status prediction in daily life, food storage, and supply chains.

Collecting sweat sample for onsite testing is a sophisticated process as the analysis process must be completed in a real-time with a highly absorptive and sensitive device in order to gain a useful assessment of its content. Thus, we developed a chemical probe incorporated into microfibrillated cellulose to introduce a novel, simple, robust and flexible aerogel. This chromogenic sponge-like aerogel assay demonstrated a color change from yellow to orange, red and blue depending on the sweat biochemical changes. Novel pH sensitive tricyanofuran hydrazone probe was prepared, characterized and encapsulated in-situ within microfibrillated cellulose to follow up sweat pH changes. The solvatochromic performance in several solvents of different polarities and the reversible pH correlated color change of this tricyanofuran hydrazone probe in an acetonitrile solution was explored by UV-Vis absorption spectra. The microporous and microfibrillated sponge-like cellulose substrate was fabricated by activation of wood pulp using phosphoric acid followed by freeze-drying process. Morphological characterization, thermal stability and fiber crystallinity of the prepared aerogel were explored using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The visual color change was explored by studying the CIE LAB color space coordinates and color strength values. The cytotoxicity of the sponge-like aerogel sensor was also evaluated., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

An accurate quantification method with a wide linearity range is paramount for the development of low-cost, portable and point-of-care sensors. This work reports a new approach to analyze the colorimetric assays on paper-based sensors using the quantification from a light transmission method. Compared to the commonly-developed color intensity measurement on scanned digital images, a portable transmission densitometer is capable of directly quantifying the optical density of colorimetric results. The detection of heavy metals in an aqueous system, including Fe(ii), Cu(ii), and Ni(ii), was carried out to demonstrate the good performance and reliability of this method. Our measurements show that the linear quantification range spans from 0.5-500 mg L -1 for the assays of Cu(ii) and Fe(ii) and from 2-500 mg L -1 for Ni(ii) based on the reading of transmitted light through the assay spot. As a comparison, the linear range is restricted to 0.5-50 mg L -1 for the same assays when analysed by the common reflection method, suggesting a significant improvement in the accuracy and sensitivity of high analyte concentrations from the light transmission method. By expanding the linearity range, this method further streamlines the sampling procedure during analysis and will greatly advance the future development of paper-based analytical sensors.

Glucose oxidase (EC 1.1.3.4) sensors that have been developed and widely used for glucose monitoring have generally relied on electrochemical principle. In this study, the potential use of colorimetric method for glucose detection utilizing glucose oxidase-magnetic cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) is explored. Magnetic cellulose nanocrystals (magnetic CNCs) were fabricated using iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) via electrostatic self-assembly technique. Glucose oxidase was successfully immobilized on magnetic CNCs using carbodiimide-coupling reaction. About 33% of GOx was successfully attached on magnetic CNCs, and the affinity of GOx-magnetic CNCs to glucose molecules was slightly higher than free enzymes. Furthermore, immobilization does not affect the specificity of GOx-magnetic CNCs towards glucose and can detect glucose from 0.25 mM to 2.5 mM. Apart from that, GOx-magnetic CNCs stored at 4 °C for 4 weeks retained 70% of its initial activity and can be recycled for at least ten consecutive cycles.

A laccase-mediator system (LMS) for biobleaching was applied to a bleached chemical pulp dyed with stilbene dye Direct Yellow 11. Of mediators tested, 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) was found to be more effective than either violuric acid (VA) or N-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT), which had been shown to be superior to ABTS when bleaching virgin chemical pulp. The laccase-ABTS system removed more than 60% of the color.