Gap site-specific rapid formation of fluorescent silver nanoclusters for label-free DNA nucleobase recognition

Silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs) templated with DNAs have attracted much attention as novel fluorophores because of their convenient emission tunability by the sequence and length of the template DNAs. However, the precise production of Ag NCs in a site-specific manner still remains a challenge to attain highly selective and label-free DNA recognition. Here we exploited the availability of a gap site in DNA duplexes as a new scaffold for the synthesis of Ag NCs. Compared to the commonly used DNA templates for the creation of Ag NCs, the gap site in DNA duplexes was found to facilitate the rapid formation of the fluorescent Ag NCs without sacrifice of their bright emission and excellent stability. We found that fluorescent Ag NCs were highly selectively formed when cytosine faced toward the gap site in DNA duplexes, and they were in situ utilized as readout by signal-on manner for the DNA mutation assays. This base-selective growth of the fluorescent Ag NCs at the gap site would find promising applications in practical detection of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and construction of DNA-based functional sensors with label-free and cost-effective merits.     

Site-specific detection of DNA methylation utilizing mCpG-SEER

Currently there are no direct methods for the sequence-specific detection of DNA-methylation at CpG dinucleotides, which provide a possible diagnostic marker for cancer. Toward this goal, we present a methodology termed mCpG-SEquence Enabled Reassembly (mCpG-SEER) of proteins utilizing a split green fluorescent protein (GFP) tethered to specific DNA recognition elements. Our system, mCpG-SEER, employs a zinc-finger attached to one-half of GFP to target a specific sequence of dsDNA, while a methyl-CpG binding domain protein attached to the complementary half of GFP targets an adjacent methylated CpG dinucleotide site. We demonstrate that the presence of both DNA sites is necessary for the reassembly and concomitant fluorescence of the reassembled GFP. We further show that the GFP-dependent fluorescence reaches a maximum when the methyl-CpG and zinc-finger sites are separated by two base pairs and the fluorescence signal is linear to 5 pmol of methylated target DNA. Finally, the specificity of this reporter system, mCpG-SEER, was found to be >40-fold between a methylated versus a nonmethylated CpG target site.     

Upconversion emission of fluorescent silver nanoclusters and in situ selective DNA biosensing

Due to their good photostability, high quantum yield and low toxicity, fluorescent silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs) have received much attention as novel fluorophores for sensing applications. In this work, we investigate the upconversion emission of Ag NCs templated by single- and double-stranded DNAs. DNA-templated Ag NCs exhibit upconversion emission at wavelengths identical to those observed for the corresponding Stokes emission. Consequently, the Ag NCs' upconversion behavior can be easily tuned by the used DNA sequences. In addition, the Ag NCs are more stable under such an NIR excitation with the upconversion mode relative to the Stokes mode. As a proof-of-concept application, DNA nucleobase recognition with the in situ formed Ag NCs is realized using the Ag NCs' upconversion emission. We expect that the Ag NCs' upconversion emission is more advantageous than the previously used rare-earth materials, at least with respect to easy modulation of the emission energies by DNA sequences, and could find wide application in sensor design.     

Novel high-sensitive fluorescent detection of deoxyribonuclease I based on DNA-templated gold/silver nanoclusters

Herein, fluorescent DNA-templated gold/silver nanoclusters (DNA-Au/Ag NCs) are presented as a novel probe for sensitive detection of deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I). The procedure is based on quenching fluorescence of DNA-Au/Ag NCs by DNase I digestion of the DNA (5′-CCCTTAATCCCC-3′) template. This decrease in fluorescence intensity permitted sensitive detection of DNase I in a linear range of 0.013–60 μg mL⁻¹, with a detection limit of 3 ng mL⁻¹ at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. Furthermore, the practicality of this probe for detection of DNase I in human serum and saliva samples was validated, demonstrating its advantages of simplicity, selectivity, sensitivity and low cost. Importantly, satisfactory agreement between results obtained by the fluorescent method described here and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) further confirmed the reliability and accuracy of this approach.     

Development of silver/gold nanocages onto indium tin oxide glass as a reagentless plasmonic mercury sensor

We demonstrate the utilization of silver/gold nanocages (Ag/Au NCs) deposited onto transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) film glass as the basis of a reagentless, simple and inexpensive mercury probe. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak wavelength was located at ∼800 nm. By utilizing the redox reaction between Hg²⁺ ions and Ag atoms that existed in Ag/Au NCs, the LSPR peak of Ag/Au NCs was blue-shifted. Thus, we develop an optical sensing probe for the detection of Hg²⁺ ions. The LSPR peak changes were lineally proportional to the concentration of Hg²⁺ ions over the range from 10 ppb to 0.5 ppm. The detection limit was ∼5 ppb. This plasmonic probe shows good selectivity and high sensitivity. The proposed optical probe is successfully applied to the sensing of Hg²⁺ in real samples.     

柔红霉素与DNA作用的序列特异性研究

采用紫外-可见光谱法和紫外-可见光谱电化学法研究了柔红霉素(DNR)与不同寡聚核苷酸之间的相互作用.结果表明,DNR优先作用于寡聚核苷酸的CpG位点,然后是ApG和ApC.因为DNR可与鸟嘌呤之间形成3个氢键.与双链寡聚核苷酸作用时,DNR最先插入的位点是(CpG)₂碱基对之间,其次是(TpG)(CpA)和(GpC)(ApC)碱基对之间.当DNR与存在未配对G碱基的DNA链作用时,因游离的DNR量增加使其电化学活性增加,导致DNA构象和构型的变化,使DNA生理功能受到损伤,DNA碱基增色效应显著上升.此法可用于G碱基未配对DNA链的检测.     

Facile synthesis of near infrared fluorescent trypsin-stabilized Ag nanoclusters with tunable emission for 1,4-dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and ethanol sensing

A facile chemical synthetic route was developed to prepare near-infrared fluorescent trypsin-stabilized Ag nanoclusters (Try-Ag NCs). The fluorescence emission wavelength of the produced Try-Ag NCs is tunable by simple adjusting pH value of the synthesis system, and the Try-Ag NCs offer a symmetric fluorescent excitation and emission peak. The fluorescence of Try-Ag NCs remains constant in the presence of various ions and molecules, and it can be effectively quenched by 1,4-dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) instead of its oxidized forms nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺). This property enables the Try-Ag NCs to be a novel analytical platform to monitor biological reaction involved with NADH. In this work, the Try-Ag NCs was also applied to analyze ethanol based on the generation of NADH which was the product of NAD⁺ and ethanol in the catalysis of alcohol dehydrogenase. And the proposed platform allowed ethanol to be determined in the range from 10 to 300 μmol/L with 5 μmol/L detection limit.     

Label-free and fluorescence turn-on aptasensor for protein detection via target-induced silver nanoclusters formation

A simple turn-on and homogeneous aptasensor, which relies on target induced formation of silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs), was developed for the determination of platelet-derived growth factor B-chain homodimer (PDGF-BB). The aptasensor contains two hairpin DNA probes termed as P1 and P2. P1 consists of the aptamer sequence of PDGF-BB. Meanwhile, P2 contains the Ag NCs nucleation sequence, which is blocked by the hairpin stem region. P1 and P2 can co-exist metastably in the absence of PDGF-BB and maintain hairpin structure. However, in the presence of PDGF-BB, the binding of PDGF-BB with aptamer will result in the hybridization between P1 and P2, and release the Ag NCs nucleation sequence. In this case, Ag NCs can be formed via the reduction of Ag⁺ by NaBH₄. By monitoring the increase in fluorescence intensity, we could detect the target protein with high sensitivity. The detection limit of this aptasensor is 0.37 nM, which is comparable with that of other reported aptasensors. Furthermore, this proposed aptasensor shows high selectivity toward its target protein. Thus, the proposed aptasensor based on target induced formation of Ag NCs could be used as a sensitive and selective platform for the detection of target protein.     

Luminescent silver nanoclusters for efficient detection of adenosine triphosphate in a wide range of pH values

In this work, polymethacrylic acid (PMAA)-templated silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs) were developed as the fluorescent probe for the efficient and sensitive detection of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in a wide range of pH values. The fluorescence intensity of the Ag NCs could keep stable with pH values ranging from 2.5 to 9.3. The detection of ATP was based on the quenching of the fluorescent Ag NCs in the presence of ATP. The fluorescence quenching of the Ag NCs with increasing ATP concentration was studied at pH 2.5, 4.5, 7.0 and 8.5 which involved a wide pH environment in body fluids. The limit of detection (LOD) for ATP was as low as 0.1 mmol/L in an acidic environment with pH of 2.5 and all the linear correlation coefficients were satisfactory under wide-span pH values from 2.5 to 8.5. In addition, the sensitive determination of ATP was also achieved by adding copper ions (Cu²⁺). The high selectivity and rapid detection process proved that the fluorescent probe had great potential to detect ATP in biological samples under different pH conditions.     

Ligation-triggered fluorescent silver nanoclusters system for the detection of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide

Herein, we demonstrate a novel silver nanocluster-based fluorescent system for the detection of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺), an important biological small molecule involved in a wide range of biological processes. A single-stranded dumbbell DNA probe was designed and used for the assay, which contained a nick in the stem, a poly-cytosine nucleotide loop close to 5′ end as the template for the formation of highly fluorescent silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs) and another loop close to 3′ end. Only in the presence of NAD⁺, the probe was linked at 5′ and 3′ ends by Escherichia coli DNA ligase, which blocked the DNA polymerase-based extension reaction, ensuring the formation of fluorescent Ag NCs. This technique provided a logarithmic linear relationship in the range of 1 pM–500 nM with a detection limit of as low as 1 pM NAD⁺, and exhibited high selectivity against its analogues, and was then successfully used for the detection of NAD⁺ level in four kinds of cell homogenates. In addition, this new approach was conducted in an isothermal and homogeneous condition without the need of any thermal cycling, washing, and separation steps, making it very simple. Overall, this label-free protocol offers a promising alternative for the detection of NAD⁺, taking advantage of specificity, sensitivity, cost-efficiency, and simplicity.

N-acetylcysteine induced quenching of red fluorescent oligonucleotide-stabilized silver nanoclusters and the application in pharmaceutical detection

In this work, we reported a new, simple and sensitive method for determination of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) based on quenching of the red fluorescence of oligonuleotide-protected silver nanoculsters (Ag NCs) with the quantum yield of 68.3 ± 0.3%. This method was successfully used for the assay of NAC granules presenting a linear range from 100 nM to 1200 nM (LOD of 50 nM) with minimal interferences from potential coexisting substances. It is for the first time that quenching performance of the thiol-containing compound was found to follow a non-linear Stern–Volmer profile, indicative of a complicated quenching mechanism with static quenching dominating, in which DNA-template of Ag NCs was partly replaced by NAC, as elucidated by spectral investigations. This study extended the analytical application of silver nanoclusters as well as provided a more insightful understanding of the quenching mechanism of thiol-compounds on the fluorescence of Ag NCs.     

Cytidine-stabilized gold nanocluster as a fluorescence turn-on and turn-off probe for dual functional detection of Ag and Hg

In this study, we have developed a label-free, dual functional detection strategy for highly selective and sensitive determination of aqueous Ag⁺ and Hg²⁺ by using cytidine stabilized Au NCs and AuAg NCs as fluorescent turn-on and turn off probes, respectively. The Au NCs and AuAg NCs showed a remarkably rapid response and high selectivity for Ag⁺ and Hg²⁺ over other metal ions, and relevant detection limit of Ag⁺ and Hg²⁺ is ca. 10 nM and 30 nM, respectively. Importantly, the fluorescence enhanced Au NCs by doping Ag⁺ can be conveniently reusable for the detection of Hg²⁺ based on the corresponding fluorescence quenching. The sensing mechanism was based on the high-affinity metallophilic Hg²⁺–Ag⁺ interaction, which effectively quenched the fluorescence of AuAg NCs. Furthermore, these fluorescent nanoprobes could be readily applied to Ag⁺ and Hg²⁺ detection in environmental water samples, indicating their possibility to be utilized as a convenient, dual functional, rapid response, and label-free fluorescence sensor for related environmental and health monitoring.     

A TICS-fluorophore based probe for dual-color GSH imaging

Cascading reactions in fluorophores accompanied by the replacement of different fluorescence wavelengths can be used to develop luminescent materials and reactive fluorescent probes. Based on multiple signal channels, the selectivity of probes can be improved and the range of response to guest molecule recognition can be expanded. By regulating the position, number, and activity of active sites in fluorophores, fluorescent probes that successively react with thiol and amino groups in cysteine (Cys), homocysteine (Hcy) have been developed, which can only react with the thiol group of GSH. In this paper, we report the first probe capable of cascading nucleophilic substitution reaction with the thiol group and amino group of GSH at a single reaction site, and showed the dual-color recognition of GSH, which improved the selectivity of GSH also was an extension of GSH probes. The probe Rho-DEA was based on a TICS fluorophore, and the intramolecular cascade nucleophilic substitution reaction occurs with Cys/Hcy. The thiol substitution of the first step reaction with Cys/Hcy was quenched due to intersystem crossing to triplet state, so GSH can be selectively recognized from the fluorescence signal. Rho-DEA has the ability of mitochondrial localization, and finally realized in situ dual-color fluorescence recognition of GSH in mitochondria.     

Luminescent silver nanoclusters for efficient detection of adenosine triphosphate in a wide range of pH values

In this work, polymethacrylic acid (PMAA)-templated silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs) were developed as the fluorescent probe for the efficient and sensitive detection of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in a wide range of pH values. The fluorescence intensity of the Ag NCs could keep stable with pH values ranging from 2.5 to 9.3. The detection of ATP was based on the quenching of the fluorescent Ag NCs in the presence of ATP. The fluorescence quenching of the Ag NCs with increasing ATP concentration was studied at pH 2.5, 4.5, 7.0 and 8.5 which involved a wide pH environment in body fluids. The limit of detection (LOD) for ATP was as low as 0.1 mmol/L in an acidic environment with pH of 2.5 and all the linear correlation coefficients were satisfactory under wide-span pH values from 2.5 to 8.5. In addition, the sensitive determination of ATP was also achieved by adding copper ions (Cu²⁺). The high selectivity and rapid detection process proved that the fluorescent probe had great potential to detect ATP in biological samples under different pH conditions.     

Axial and equatorial carbene ligands of dimanganese and dirhenium monocarbene complexes: Synthesis, characterisation and structural studies

The binuclear alkoxycarbene complexes [M₂(CO)₉{C(OEt)C₄H₃Y}] (M = Mn, Y = S(1), O(2); Re, Y = S(3), O(4)) were synthesised and characterised, giving axial carbene ligands for the dimanganese complexes, and equatorial carbene ligands for the dirhenium complexes. Aminolysis of these complexes with ammonia and n-propylamine yielded complexes [M₂(CO)₉{C(NHR)C₄H₃Y}] (R = H, M = Mn, Y = S(5), O(6); Re, Y = S(7), O(8); R = propyl, M = Mn, Y = S(9), O(10); Re, Y = S(11), O(12)). For the smaller NH₂-substituted carbene ligands, the X-ray structures determined showed equatorial carbene ligands for both dimanganese and dirhenium complexes, while the NHPr-substituted carbene complexes retained the original configurations of the precursor alkoxy carbene complex, indicating that the steric effects of both the M(CO)₅-fragment and the carbene ligand substituent can affect the coordination site of the carbene ligands of Group VII transition metal complexes in the solid state.     

Synthesis and properties of transparent luminescent nanocomposites with surface functionalized semiconductor nanocrystals

5-Amino-1,10-phenanthroline (Aphen) was used as an organic ligand to functionalize CdS nanocrystals (NCs) by a ligand-exchange process. The functional Aphen-CdS NCs have strong luminescent emission at 552 nm and good dispersibility in the polar organic monomers. The Aphen-CdS NCs were dispersed in polymeric monomers to prepare a series of transparent luminescent nanocomposites with excellent thermal stability via in-situ bulk polymerization. The fluorescent properties of the Aphen-CdS NCs were well retained in the polymer matrix. It was found that when the methacrylic acid (MAA) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) as the comonomers were introduced into the polymer matrix, the emission peaks of the resultant nanocomposites had a blue shift and the fluorescent intensities also increased due to the interaction between NCs and the polymer matrices. The transparent NCs/polymer nanocomposites with tunable fluorescent emission can be potentially used for the fabrication of optoelectronic devices.     

Label-free fluorescent molecular beacon based on a small fluorescent molecule non-covalently bound to the intentional gap site in the stem moiety

A label-free fluorescent molecular beacon (MB) based on a fluorescent molecule, 5,6,7-trimethyl-1,8-naphthyridin-2-ylamine (ATMND) which is non-covalently bound to the intentional gap site in the stem moiety of the label-free MB, was developed. In the absence of a cDNA, ATMND fluorescence is significantly quenched because it binds to the unpaired cytosine at the gap site by hydrogen bonding. As a result, the label-free MB shows almost no fluorescence. Upon hybridization with cDNA, the label-free MB undergoes a conformational change to destroy the gap site. This results in an effective fluorescent enhancement because of the release of the ATMND from the gap site to the solution. Fluorescence titration shows that ATMND strongly binds to the cytosine at the gap site (K₁₁ > 10⁶). Circular-dichroism spectroscopy indicates that the binding of ATMND at the gap site of the stem moiety does not induce a significant conformational change to the hairpin DNA. Under optimal conditions, the fluorescent intensity of the label-free MB increases with an increase in cDNA concentration from 50 nM to 1.5 μM. A detection limit of 20 nM cDNA was achieved. A single mismatched target ss-DNA can be effectively discriminated from cDNA. The advantage of the label-free MB is that both its ends can be left free to introduce other useful functionalities. In addition, the label-free MB synthesis introduced in this paper is relatively simple and inexpensive because no label is required.     

日光辐射光还原合成左旋多巴胺功能化的荧光发射的银纳米簇和铁离子检测

以左旋多巴胺(L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine,DOPA)为稳定剂,采用日光辐射光还原法,合成了强荧光发射的银纳米簇(silver nanoclusters,Ag NCs)。透射电镜分析表明,所合成的Ag NCs表现亚纳米非晶态结构。Ag NCs在可见-近红外波长范围内(400~750 nm)有明显光吸收带,最大荧光激发和发射峰分别为550和630 nm,荧光量子产率为2.3%(相对于罗丹明B)。Ag NCs的荧光强度与合成时的日光辐射时间、DOPA浓度以及pH值等因素有关。进一步优化了合成Ag NCs的条件。基于荧光猝灭原理,所合成的DOPA功能化的Ag NCs能选择性地灵敏响应Fe3+。修饰在Ag NCs表面的配体DOPA能够选择性地结合Fe3+,导致Ag NCs显著聚集,伴随荧光猝灭。Ag NCs具有的较高量子产率和红荧光发射特性,有利于提高Fe3+的分析灵敏度。     

日光辐射光还原合成左旋多巴胺功能化的荧光发射的银纳米簇和铁离子检测

以左旋多巴胺（L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine,DOPA）为稳定剂,采用日光辐射光还原法,合成了强荧光发射的银纳米簇（silvernanoclusters,AgNCs）。透射电镜分析表明,所合成的AgNCs表现亚纳米非晶态结构。AgNCs在可见-近红外波长范围内（400~750nm）有明显光吸收带,最大荧光激发和发射峰分别为550和630nm,荧光量子产率为2.3%（相对于罗丹明B）。AgNCs的荧光强度与合成时的日光辐射时间、DOPA浓度以及pH值等因素有关。进一步优化了合成AgNCs的条件。基于荧光猝灭原理,所合成的DOPA功能化的AgNCs能选择性地灵敏响应Fe³⁺。修饰在AgNCs表面的配体DOPA能够选择性地结合Fe³⁺,导致AgNCs显著聚集,伴随荧光猝灭。AgNCs具有的较高量子产率和红荧光发射特性,有利于提高Fe³⁺的分析灵敏度。     

A ratiometric fluorescent probe for magnesium employing excited state intramolecular proton transfer

A simple fluorescent sensor has been developed for the ratiometric recognition of Mg²⁺ in semi-aqueous solution at pH 7.0. The sensor, a Schiff base, undergoes Excited State Intramolecular Proton Transfer (ESIPT) to generate a keto tautomer with proficient Mg²⁺ binding capability. The sensor displays good selectivity over other metal ions including alkali/alkali earth ions and can measure Mg²⁺ ion concentration between 2.0 and 30.0 μM. The binding stoichiometry was established as 2:1 (host:guest) with an association constant (K₂₁) of (1.4 ± 0.1) × 10⁴ M⁻². The sensor could potentially be used to detect conditions such as hypermagnesaemia.