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Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activities (i.e., total AChE) in human blood are biomarkers for theranostic monitoring of organophosphate neurotoxin-poisoned patients. We developed an ultra-sensitive method to detect the total AChE activity in sub-microliter human whole blood based on in situ induced metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF). Both AChE and BChE can catalyze the hydrolysis of the acetylthiocholine (ATCh) substrate and produce positively-charged thiocholine (TCh). TCh can reverse the negatively-charged surface of core-shell Ag@SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). The negatively-charged fluorescent dye (8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid, HPTS) is then confined to the surface of Ag@SiO2 NPs and generates an enhanced fluorescence signal in situ. Changes in the surface charge of Ag@SiO2 NPs are monitored by Zeta potential, and the MEF effect is confirmed by the measurements of fluorescence time decay. AChE activity has a dynamic range of 0 U/mL to 0.005 U/mL and a detection limit of 0.05 mU/mL. The total AChE activity in the sub-microliter human whole blood could be determined; the results were further validated. Therefore, combining the AChE catalytic reaction with MEF provides a simple, ultra-sensitive, and cost-effective "in situ MEF" approach to determine the total AChE activity in human whole blood sample down to sub-microliters without matrix interferences. The strategy also allows potential usage in other tissues and other fields., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

S1 nuclease has an important function in DNA transcription, replication, recombination, and repair. A label-free fluorescent method for the detection of S1 nuclease activity has been developed using polycytosine oligonucleotide-templated silver nanoclusters (dC12-Ag NCs). In this assay, dC12 can function as both the template for the stabilization of Ag NCs and the substrate of the S1 nuclease. Fluorescent Ag NCs could be effectively formed using dC12 as the template without S1 nuclease. In the presence of S1 nuclease, dC12 is degraded to mono- or oligonucleotide fragments, thereby resulting in a reduction in fluorescence. S1 nuclease with an activity as low as 5×10(-8)Uμl(-1) (signal/noise=3) can be determined with a linear range of 5×10(-7) to 1×10(-3)Uμl(-1). The promising application of the proposed method in S1 nuclease inhibitor screening has been demonstrated using pyrophosphate as the model inhibitor. Furthermore, the S1 nuclease concentrations in RPMI 1640 cell medium were validated. The developed method for S1 nuclease is sensitive and facile because its operation does not require any complicated DNA labeling or laborious fluorescent dye synthesis., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

One of the great challenges in metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) technology is the achievement of distance modulation with nanometer accuracy between the fluorophore and metal surface to obtain maximum enhancement. We propose an MEF-based core-shell Ag@SiO2 nanoflare for distance control via the thickness of silica shell with cooperation of DNA hybridization. The nanoflare contains a 50 nm spherical silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) core, a 8 nm silica shell, and cyanine (Cy5)-labeled aptamer hybridized with a complementary DNA (cDNA) immobilized onto the shell surface. The formation of the Cy5-labeled aptamer/cDNA duplex on the Ag@SiO2 NP surface results in the confinement of Cy5 to the shell surface and an increase in the fluorescence of Cy5 with a 32-fold enhancement factor in bulk solution (signal-on). In the presence of affinity-binding targets, the Cy5-labeled aptamers confined onto the Ag@SiO2 NP surface dissociate from their cDNA into the solution because of structure switching. The target-induced release of aptamer leads to a reduction in the enhanced fluorescence signal of the labeled Cy5 moiety (signal-off). Thus, the nanoflare can be used as a sensor for target recognition. Using adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) aptamer, detection of ATP has a linear response from 0 to 0.5 mM and a detection limit of 8 μM. With various types of DNA probes immobilized onto the core-shell Ag@SiO2 NPs, the MEF-based nanoflare has provided an effective platform for the detection and quantification of a broad range of analytes, such as mRNA regulation and detection, cell sorting, and gene profiling.

A novel hybrid nanocomposite consisting of ZnO nanosphere wrapped with VS 2 ultrathin nanosheets (cauliflower-like nanoarchitecture) was successfully fabricated by a facile wet chemical method. ZnO nanospheres grew in situ on VS 2 nanosheets, which effectively restrained the restack of VS 2 nanosheets, leading three-dimensional (3D) nanostructure. With good electrical conductivity, big space void and high specific surface area, the as-prepared ZnO/VS 2 nanocomposite presents great potential as high-performance supercapacitor electrode. Detailed electrochemical characterizations show the intriguing structure exhibits extremely excellent supercapacitors performance including high specific capacitance (2695.7 F g −1 at a current density of 1 A g −1 ) and long term cycling stability (92.7% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles). This study provides the basis for the application of VS 2 -based hybrid nanoarchitectures in energy storage and other electrochemical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]