Understanding plasmonic catalysis with controlled nanomaterials based on catalytic and plasmonic metals

Recently, it has been established that the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excitation in plasmonic nanoparticles can be put toward the acceleration and control of molecular transformations. This field, named plasmonic catalysis, has emerged as a new frontier in nanocatalysis. For metals such as silver (Ag), gold (Au), and copper (Cu), the LSPR excitation can take place in the visible and near-infrared ranges, opening possibilities for the conversion of solar to chemical energy and new/alternative reaction pathways not accessible via conventional, thermally activated catalytic processes. As both catalytic and optical properties can be tuned by controlling several physical and chemical parameters at the nanoscale, design-controlled nanomaterials open the door to unlock the potential of plasmonic catalysis both in terms of fundamental understanding and optimization of performances. In this context, after introducing the fundamentals of plasmonic catalysis, we provide an overview on the current understanding of this field enabled by the utilization of designed-controlled nanostructures based on plasmonic and catalytic metals as model systems. We start by discussing trends in plasmonic catalytic performances and their correlation with nanoparticle size, shape, composition, and structure. Then, we highlight how multimetallic compositions and morphologies containing both catalytic and plasmonic components enables one to extend the use of plasmonic catalysis to metals that are important in catalysis but do not support LSPR excitation in the visible range. Finally, we focus on key challenges and perspectives that are critically important to assist us in designing future energy-efficient plasmonic-catalytic materials.     

Colorimetric detection of cyanide with phenyl thiourea derivatives

Three structurally simple thiourea derivatives 1-3 were prepared, and their chromogenic behaviors toward various anions were investigated in aqueous solution. Among them 1 showed good sensitivity and selectivity for cyanide ion and also can distinguish it from other anions by different color changes. Besides that, the receptor 1 has a sensitive detection limit (1.27 μM) for cyanide ion accordingly it can be used as a colorimetric sensor for the determination of cyanide ion. The use of the test strip of sensor 1 to detect cyanide ion was also reported.     

Colorimetric detection of cyanide with a chromogenic oxazine

[reaction: see text] We have designed a chromogenic oxazine for the colorimetric detection of cyanide. Indeed, the [1,3]oxazine ring of our compound opens to form a 4-nitrophenylazophenolate chromophore in response to cyanide. This quantitative chromogenic transformation permits the detection of micromolar concentrations of cyanide in water. Furthermore, our chromogenic oxazine is insensitive to the presence of large concentrations of fluoride, chloride, bromide, or iodide anions, which are generally the principal interferents in the colorimetric detection of cyanide.     

Controlled optical manipulation and sorting of nanomaterials enabled by photonic and plasmonic nanodevices

Precise manipulation and sorting of nanomaterials cannot rely on techniques used for micro- and macro-scale objects because of their nanoscale size, which is smaller than the diffraction limit, and their fast Brownian diffusion. To overcome the limitations of standard optical tweezers, new techniques have recently emerged that make use of optical forces acting on nanomaterials in the vicinity of photonic and plasmonic nanostructures. This review focuses on the techniques that have been recently developed to either optically transport, sort, trap, rotate, assemble, or deposit nanomaterials using photonic or plasmonic devices. The first part is dedicated to the optical transport and sorting of nanomaterials using photonic waveguides. The second part provides an overview of the recent work on optical trapping and manipulation of nanomaterials using photonic and plasmonic nanoresonators. The third part provides a short summary of recent work on optical trapping and manipulation using metalenses and metasurfaces. This review aims to highlight some specific functionalities enabled by photonic and plasmonic devices that make it possible to tailor the optical forces acting on nanomaterials.     

Colorimetric detection of cyanide with N-nitrophenyl benzamide derivatives

A series of structurally simple N-nitrophenyl benzamide derivatives have been developed as chemosensors toward cyanide in aqueous environment by taking advantage of the cyanide's strong affinity toward the acyl carbonyl carbon. The high selectivity of these compounds toward CN⁻ makes it a practical system for monitoring CN⁻ concentrations in aqueous samples.     

Colorimetric signaling of Hg ions by a nitrobenzoxadiazole-appended cyclen-triester

A novel Hg²⁺-selective colorimetric sensor based on a cyclen–nitrobenzoxadiazole (NBD) conjugate was investigated. A cyclen derivative with three ester ligands was used as the binding site and the NBD moiety acted as the reporting chromogenic subunit. Interaction of 1 with Hg²⁺ ions resulted in a pronounced color change from pink to yellow, and fluorescence signaling was also possible. Selective colorimetric signaling of Hg²⁺ ions by NBD-functionalized cyclen with a detection limit of 1.5 × 10⁻⁶ M in aqueous environments was successfully achieved.     

Colorimetric Cu2+ detection with a ligation DNAzyme and nanoparticles

Using a Cu(2+)-dependent DNA ligation DNAzyme, a colorimetric sensor for Cu2+ has been developed based on directed assembly of DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles by the ligation product, and such ligation DNAzyme-based sensors are intrinsically more sensitive than cleavage DNAzyme systems due to the lack of background.     

Colorimetric detection of polynucleotides on polypropylene slices.

The gold-label-silver-stain method (GLSS) for DNA hybridization detection has been receiving increased interest as a colorimetric detective method, demonstrating the advantages of non-radioactivity, non-quenching effect of fluorescence and simplicity for analytical equipment. A colorimetric detection based on the GLSS method was applied to DNA arrays in situ synthesized on polypropylene (PP) slices. In this paper a simple plasma treatment was employed to graft amino (-NH2) on the polypropylene slice surfaces, where DNA probes were immobilized via in situ synthesis. Hybridization was accomplished by a sandwich hybridization format. With the amplification of Silver Enhancer Solution, the hybridization signals were recorded with a scanner. A target DNA concentration as low as 100 fM was detected. Complementary and mismatched sequences were clearly distinguished, and the ratio of the background-subtracted gray scale values for a perfect match, single-base mismatch, 2-base mismatch and 3-base mismatch is 22:16:9:4. The sensitivity of the in situ synthesis system was 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of the spotting system, and the signals of the former were about 2-times stronger than that of the latter under the same target DNA concentration.     

Colorimetric detection of carbenicillin using cationic polythiophene derivatives

A water-soluble, polythiophene-based colorimetric sensor was designed for selective and sensitive detection of carbenicillin in HEPES buffer solution. Quaternized quinine was linked to thiophene through bis-functionality benzyl group, which can interact with carbenicillin via electrostatic interaction and geometric match effect. The sensor exhibited a colorimetric signal change upon the addition of carbenicillin because of the formation of more nonplanar structures. However, the addition of other beta-lactam antibiotics or dicarboxylic acids into the sensor solution caused no obvious changes in absorbance intensity ratio. This result may be attributed to the cavity formed by the semi-rigid framework of PTQ2, which is suitable for the special binding with carbenicillin. This novel sensor can effectively distinguish carbenicillin from other beta-lactam antibiotics and has a wide linear range response in HEPES buffer solution. Linear calibration curves are obtained with 0 to 18 μmol/L of HEPES buffer solution, with a limit of detection of 0.54 μmol/L.     

Nonblinking plasmonic quantum dot assemblies for multiplex biological detection

Nonblinking nanosystems are prepared by layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte deposition, which precisely controls the stoichiometry and the distance between quantum dots (QDs) and gold nanoparticles (GNPs). Conjugation of biorecognition molecules to these nanobarcodes enables cell targeting and entry with prolonged retention and minimal toxicity.     

基于阳离子共轭聚合物比色检测HIV逆转录酶的RNase H活性

利用阳离子聚噻吩衍生物与单链DNA和杂合体DNA/RNA通过静电相结合时所产生的紫外吸收变化,建立了一种检测HIV逆转录酶(RT-HIV)的RNase H活性的方法。阳离子聚噻吩衍生物的紫外吸收最大波长位于短波385nm,与单链DNA结合会使聚噻吩衍生物的紫外吸收最大波长红移至525nm;而与杂合体DNA/RNA结合时对其紫外吸收最大波长几乎没有影响,当利用RT-HIV的核糖核酸酶RNase H活性水解掉杂合体中的RNA时,杂合体溶液又会使聚噻吩衍生物的紫外吸收最大波长发生红移。结果表明,紫外吸收最大波长变化明显,甚至直观用肉眼就可以观察到杂合体水解前后溶液颜色的变化。同时还测定了不同时间下RNase H酶水解杂合体中RNA的吸光度变化曲线,计算出了RNase H酶水解的动力学常数和最大初速度。     

Colorimetric test kit for Cu2+ detection

A coumarin-based colorimetric chemosensor 1 was designed and synthesized. It exhibits good sensitivity and selectivity for the copper cation over other cations such as Zn(2+), Cd(2+), Pb(2+), Co(2+), Fe(2+), Ni(2+), Ag(+), and alkali and alkaline earth metal cations both in aqueous solution and on paper-made test kits. The change in color is very easily observed by the naked eye in the presence of Cu(2+) cation, whereas other metal cations do not induce such a change. The quantitative detection of Cu(2+) was preliminarily examined.     

Recent advances in optical detection of dopamine using nanomaterials

This review (with 121 references) gives a summary on recent advances in the use of nanomaterials for the optical determination of dopamine. It includes a brief overview of the clinical significance of dopamine followed by a discussion on the recent advances in various nanomaterial-based distinctive optical spectroscopic methods such as (a) colorimetry and spectrophotometry, (b) surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), (c) fluorescence spectrometry, and (d) electrochemiluminescence (ECL) spectrometry. All sections are further divided into subsections based on the type of nanomaterial used, and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. A discussion on the validity of the nanomaterial-based optical detection of dopamine for human samples is also included. This review concludes with highlights of current challenges of nanomaterial-based optical sensors and an outlook on future perspectives.

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Graphical abstract Schematic of the use of various nanomaterials in the detection of dopamine based on colorimetry, spectrophotometry, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence and electrochemiluminescence.

     

Colorimetric detection of thiol-containing amino acids using gold nanoparticles

This paper reports findings of an investigation of the unusual colorimetric change of gold nanoparticles in the presence of thiol-containing amino acids such as homocysteine, cysteine and glutathione. The colorimetric change for homocysteine exhibits a rate that is about two orders of magnitude higher than that for cysteine, and at least five orders of magnitude higher than that for glutathione. The reactivity is effectively reduced or suppressed by the coexistence of either cysteine or glutathione. It is believed that the reactivity involves encapsulation of the particles by the thiol-containing amino acids which is followed by crosslinking at the encapsulating shells. In comparison with cysteine and glutathione, homocysteine has a slower encapsulating rate but a faster crosslinking rate. Implications of the findings of the interfacial encapsulation and crosslinking reactivities of gold nanoparticles to potential nanoparticle-enhanced analytical detection of thiol-containing amino acids are also briefly discussed.     

Colorimetric detection of potassium ions using aptamer-functionalized gold nanoparticles

Herein, a simple and novel colorimetric method for detection of potassium ions (K⁺) was developed. The colorimetric experiments revealed that upon the addition of K⁺, the conformation of anti-K⁺ aptamer in solution changed from random coil structure to compact rigid G-quadruplex one. This compact rigid G-quadruplex structure could not protect AuNPs against K⁺-induced aggregation, and thus the visible color change from wine-red to blue-purple could be observed by the naked eye. The linear range of the colorimetric aptasensor covered a large variation of K⁺ concentration from 5 nM to 1 μM and the detection limit of 5 nM was obtained. Moreover, this assay was able to detect K⁺ with high selectivity and had great potential applications.     

Colorimetric detection of oligonucleotides using a polydiacetylene vesicle sensor

A new system for the colorimetric detection of oligonucleotides was developed using polydiacetylene vesicles, which play the dual role of an indicator of color transition and an amplification tag. The results are of significance in understanding the mechanism of color transition of biological recognition in polydiacetylene systems and in designing new biosensors.     

Colorimetric signaling of large aromatic hydrocarbons via the enhancement of aggregation processes

[graph: see text] In this paper, the use of aggregation processes in squaraine derivatives as signaling protocols in the development of colorimetric probes for certain neutral guest (aromatic hydrocarbons) has been studied.