Determination of carbofuran in water by homogeneous immunoassay using selectively conjugate mastoparan and terbium/dipicolinic acid fluorescent complex

Homogeneous immunoassay (LITRFIA) for carbofuran (CF) determination was performed using liposomes and mastoparan (Mast) conjugate as cytolitic agent. Mast was conjugated to the 5-(2-2-dimethyl-2,3-dihydro-benzofuran-7-yloxy)-pentanoic acid (CPCF) both randomly and selectively to a single (V¹- or K⁴-) amino-group. The conjugated compounds have been tested for the cytolytic activity on liposomes trapping Tb/citrate complex. Dipicolinic acid (DPA) was used as fluorescent chelating agent. The CPCF–V¹–Mast derivative (retaining almost the same lytic activity as Mast) was used in the immunoassay in competition with standard CF. Liposome lysis was proportional to the standard concentrations in a dynamic range between 10 pg and 10 ng. Assay has been performed for tap water analysis and for 10 real samples taken from an agricultural area to the south of Milan. Recovery in samples spiked with two different CF concentrations was between 92.5 and 105%.     

Application of long-lived luminescence for detection in liquid chromatography

Summary Quenched and sensitized lanthanide luminescence as detection in liquid chromatography has been investigated. An important advantage in comparison with phosphorescence is that the long-lived luminescence as applied does not require deoxygenation of the samples. In order to obtain a high luminescence intensity Tb(III) complexes with acetylacetonate have been formed, after which indirect excitation of Tb(III) can be realized via the ligands. The potential of Tb(III) luminescence as a detection method in ion chromatography has been shown for chromate, which is an efficient quencher. Sensitizing of the Tb(III) luminescence has been applied for thiol-containing analytes. These compounds are derivatized with maleimidyl salicylic acid to complexes that sensitize the Tb(III) luminescence. From a comparison of the results obtained with normal fluorescence detection and time-resolved sensitized Tb(III) luminescence detection it has become clear that the last method has a higher sensitivity, but in particular a higher selectivity.     

Towards libraries of luminescent lanthanide complexes and labels from generic synthons

A synthetic approach is developed to obtain families of luminescent lanthanide complexes and markers from a generic family of precursors built from nonadentate coordination sites. The syntheses of the precursors, based on a directed regioselective nucleophilic aromatic substitution on polyfluoropyridines, are described. Functionalisation of the synthons on the aromatic moieties allowed the introduction of labelling functions and/or the extension of the electronic delocalisation, with concomitant changes in the spectroscopic properties. The synthesis of two such families of ligands and of some of their complexes of Eu(III) and Tb(III) are described, and the photo-physical properties of the complexes were measured, revealing excellent luminescence quantum yields reaching unity in some cases. For some of these complexes, the emphasis was further put on the preparation of an N-hydroxylsuccinimide (NHS) ester as activated function for labelling. The Tb and La complexes in the NHS activated form were synthesized and fully characterized. The labelling was first demonstrated on amino functionalized polymer beads and characterized by time-resolved luminescence microscopy. In a second step, the activated Tb complex was used for the labelling of GFR44 monoclonal antibody, and was applied to the detection of carcinoembryonic antigene (CEA) within the frame of a time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay. Comparison with a commercially available kit based on a europium cryptate as energy donor confirms the efficiency of Tb to act as an energy donor with an unoptimised 35% increase of the detection efficiency.     

Selectively conjugated melittins for liposome time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay of theophylline in serum

Theophylline (Th) has been selectively conjugated to the four amino groups of melittin (Mel) by solid phase peptide synthesis. The cytolytic activity of the resultant Th-Mel compounds was tested on liposomes trapping the bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugate with 4,7-bis(chlorosulfophenyl)-1,10-phenanthrol ine-2,9-dicarboxylic acid (BCPDA). The loss of lytic activity was the highest for Th-K7-Mel. Th-G1-Mel retains almost the same lytic activity as Mel. A homogeneous liposome time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay (LITRFIA) of Th in serum has been carried out with Th-G1-Mel between 5 ng and 10 microg.     

Selectively conjugated melittins for liposome time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay of theophylline in serum

Theophylline (Th) has been selectively conjugated to the four amino groups of melittin (Mel) by solid phase peptide synthesis. The cytolytic activity of the resultant Th-Mel compounds was tested on liposomes trapping the bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugate with 4,7-bis(chlorosulfophenyl)-1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid (BCPDA). The loss of lytic activity was the highest for Th-K⁷-Mel. Th-G¹-Mel retains almost the same lytic activity as Mel. A homogeneous liposome time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay (LITRFIA) of Th in serum has been carried out with Th-G¹-Mel between 5 ng and 10 μg.     

Time-resolved long-lived luminescence imaging method employing luminescent lanthanide probes with a new microscopy system

Superior fluorescence imaging methods are needed for detailed studies on biological phenomena, and one approach that permits precise analyses is time-resolved fluorescence measurement, which offers a high signal-to-noise ratio. Herein, we describe a new fluorescence imaging system to visualize biomolecules within living biological samples by means of time-resolved, long-lived luminescence microscopy (TRLLM). In TRLLM, short-lived background fluorescence and scattered light are gated out, allowing the long-lived luminescence to be selectively imaged. Usual time-resolved fluorescence microscopy provides fluorescence images with nanosecond resolution and has been used to image interactions between proteins, protein phosphorylation, the local pH, the refractive index, ion or oxygen concentrations, etc. Luminescent lanthanide complexes (especially europium and terbium trivalent ions (Eu3+ and Tb3+)), in contrast, have long luminescence lifetimes on the order of milliseconds. We have designed and synthesized new luminescent Eu3+ complexes for TRLLM and also developed a new TRLLM system using a conventional fluorescence microscope with an image intensifier unit for gated signal acquisition and a xenon flash lamp as the excitation source. When the newly developed luminescent Eu3+ complexes were applied to living cells, clear fluorescence images were acquired with the TRLLM system, and short-lived fluorescence was completely excluded. By using Eu3+ and Tb3+ luminescent complexes in combination, time-resolved dual-color imaging was also possible. Furthermore, we monitored changes of intracellular ionic zinc (Zn2+) concentration by using a Zn2+-selective luminescent Eu3+ chemosensor, [Eu-7]. This new imaging technique should facilitate investigations of biological functions with fluorescence microscopy, complementing other fluorescence imaging methodologies.     

Energy transfer and tunable luminescence properties of Eu3+ in TbBO3 microspheres via a facile hydrothermal process

Tb (1- x) BO 3: xEu (3+) ( x = 0-1) microsphere phosphors have been successfully prepared by a simple hydrothermal process directly without further sintering treatment. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), photoluminescence (PL), low-voltage cathodoluminescence (CL), and time-resolved emission spectra as well as lifetimes were used to characterize the samples. The as-obtained phosphor samples present sphere-like agglomerates composed of nanosheets with highly crystallinity in spite of the moderate reaction temperature of 200 degrees C. Under ultraviolet excitation into the 4f (8) --> 4f (7)5d transition of Tb (3+) at 245 nm (or 284 nm) and low-voltage electron beams' excitation, TbBO 3 samples show the characteristic emission of Tb (3+) corresponding to (5)D 4 --> (7)F 6, 5, 4, 3 transitions; whereas TbBO 3:Eu (3+) samples mainly exhibit the characteristic emission of Eu (3+) corresponding to (5)D 0 --> (7)F 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 transitions due to an efficient energy transfer occurs from Tb (3+) to Eu (3+). The increase of Eu (3+) concentration leads to the increase of the energy-transfer efficiency from Tb (3+) to Eu (3+) but also enhances the probability of the interaction between neighboring Eu (3+), which results in the concentration quenching. The PL color of TbBO 3: xEu (3+) phosphors can be easily tuned from green, yellow, orange, to red-orange by changing the doping concentration ( x) of Eu (3+), making the materials have potential applications in fluorescent lamps for advertizing signs and other color display fields.     

A supramolecular microfluidic optical chemosensor

A supramolecular microfluidic optical chemosensor (muFOC) has been fabricated. A serpentine channel has been patterned with a sol-gel film that incorporates a cyclodextrin supramolecule modified with a Tb(3+) macrocycle. Bright emission from the Tb(3+) ion is observed upon exposure of the (mu)FOC to biphenyl in aqueous solution. The signal transduction mechanism was elucidated by undertaking steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic measurements directly on the optical chemosensor patterned within the microfluidic network. The presence of biphenyl in the cyclodextrin receptor site triggers Tb(3+) emission by an absorption-energy transfer-emission process. These results demonstrate that the intricate signal transduction mechanisms of supramolecular optical chemosensors are successfully preserved in microfluidic environments.     

Analytical application of the co-fluorescence effect in detection of europium, terbium, samarium and dysprosium with time-resolved fluorimetry

Application of the co-fluorescence effect has been examined for the simultaneous detection of the lanthanide ions Eu(3+), Tb(3+), Sm(3+) and Dy(3+). In the presence of Y(3+) and 2,2'-bipyridine (BP), the fluorescence intensities of the pivaloyltrifluoroacetone chelates of these lanthanides were greatly enhanced by an inter-chelate energy transfer process. Under optimized conditions, the following detection limits were obtained; 0.019 pM for Eu(3+), 0.27 pM for Tb(3+), 3.8 pM for Sm(3+) and 20 pM for Dy(3+), when a sensitive time-resolved fluorometer was used for the measurement. A co-fluorescence based fluorescence enhancement solution was also tested in a dual-label time-resolved immunofluorometric assay of luteinizing and follicle stimulating hormones (LH and FSH) based on the use of Eu(3+) and Tb(3+) as the label ions. The present fluorometric detection system is particularly well suited for multilabel time-resolved fluorometric immunoassays utilizing two, three or four ion labels simultaneously.     

Lanthanide-binding tags as luminescent probes for studying protein interactions

Herein, we report a method for studying protein-peptide interactions which exploits the luminescence properties of Tb(III). Lanthanide-binding tags (LBTs) are short peptide sequences comprising 15-20 naturally occurring amino acids that bind Tb(III) with high affinity. These genetically encodable luminescent tags are smaller in size than the Aequorea victoria fluorescent proteins (AFPs) and benefit from the long-lived luminescence lifetime of lanthanides. In this study, luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET) was used to monitor the interaction between SH2 domains and different phosphopeptides. For the study, the SH2 domains of Src and Crk kinase were each coexpressed with an LBT, and phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated peptides were chemically synthesized with organic fluorophores. The LRET between the protein-bound Tb(III) and the peptide-based organic fluorophore was shown to be specific for the recognition of the SH2 domain and the peptide binding partner. This method can detect differences in binding affinity and can be used to measure the dissociation constant for the protein-peptide interaction. In addition, decay experiments can be used to calculate the distance between a site in the bound peptide and the protein using F?rster theory. In all of these experiments, the millisecond luminescence lifetime of Tb(III) can be exploited using time-resolved detection to eliminate background fluorescence from organic fluorophores.     

Photoluminescence response of terbium-exchanged MFI-type materials to Si/Al ratio, texture, and hydration state

Terbium-exchanged MFI zeolite type materials, i.e., microporous-mesoporous Zeotile-1 with the Si/Al ratio in the range 33-200, Zeogrid with the Si/Al ratio of 75, and nanocrystalline MFI with the Si/Al ratio of 75, were prepared via an ion exchange procedure. All of these zeolites were investigated by means of time-resolved photoluminescence techniques in various hydration states: as-synthesized (hydrated), calcined (heated at 450 degrees C in air), and rehydrated (after a six-month exposure to the atmospheric moisture). The photoluminescence decays and spectra were analyzed by discrete exponential fitting, distribution lifetimes analysis, and area-normalized time-resolved photoluminescence spectra. The results sustained a single average terbium species coordinated to both water molecules and framework oxygens in the hydrated zeolites. The framework contribution increased with the Si/Al ratio in Zeotile-1 and was greatest for the nanocrystalline MFI zeolite. For the calcined Zeotile-1 and Zeogrid, two main terbium species of different environments were found. For the nanocrystalline Tb3+-MFI, a distinct number of species could not be inferred, indicating a more heterogeneous distribution. Rehydration further differentiated among the Tb3+-exchanged zeolites. Photoluminescence line shape and decay of Tb3+-Zeotile-1 were between those of the hydrated and calcined states indicating a slow rehydration rate in contrast with the photoluminescence properties of Tb3+-MFI, which fully recovered the values of the hydrated state. Tb3+-Zeogrid presented an intermediate case: while the PL line shape was fully restored to that measured for the hydrated sample, the decay was still longer than that measured with the hydrated sample. Terbium photoluminescence response related to zeolite texture, Si/Al ratio, and hydration state suggest different sitting and location of terbium in Zeotile-1, Zeogrid, and nanocrystalline MFI materials. In mesoporous Zeotile-1 and Zeogrid, the results sustained two types of terbium sites: one on the internal surface of mesopores, the other inside the pores, while for the nanocrystalline MFI, terbium sites inside the pores predominate.     

Selective fluorescence determination of chromium (VI) in water samples with terbium composite nanoparticles

The strong fluorescence Tb/acetyl acetone (acac)/Poly (Acrylamide) (PAM) composite nanoparticles have been prepared under ultrasonic radiation. The nanoparticles were water-soluble, stable and have extremely narrow emission bands and high internal quantum efficiencies. Based on the fluorescence quenching of Tb/acac/PAM by Cr (VI), a method for the selective determination of Cr (VI), without separation of Cr (III) in water, was developed. The reaction condition between Cr (VI) and Tb/acac/PAM were investigated in detail. Under optimal experimental conditions, the linear calibration curve was obtained over the concentration range of 5-600 ng mL(-1) with a correlation coefficient of 0.9939. The corresponding detection limit is 0.8 ng mL(-1) and the relative standard deviation is 1.5% for 0.05 microg mL(-1) (n=7). The proposed method has been applied to the selective quantification of Cr (VI) in synthetic samples and waste-water samples with the satisfactory results. The assay is characterized by short reaction time, very few interference, stable fluorescence signals, simple instrument and simplicity.     

基于稀土离子介导石墨烯量子点荧光开关的凝血酶生物传感器

稀土离子(Er3+)可与荧光石墨烯量子点(GQDs)表面的含氧基团发生配位,在Er3+介导下形成高配位数的GQDs/Er3+配合物,引起GQDs聚集而使其荧光减弱.凝血酶(Tb)中的氮和氧等原子可与Er3+发生配位作用,从而与GQDs竞争结合Er3+,减弱了GQDs与Er3+的作用而使其荧光恢复.通过检测GQDs的荧光即可实现对Tb活性的高灵敏分析,构建了基于Er3+介导GQDs荧光开关的Tb传感方法,采用透射电镜、原子力显微镜、红外吸收光谱以及荧光光谱等对传感机理进行了研究.本方法对Tb的检出限低至0.049 nmol/L,其它蛋白质对Tb检测无明显干扰,实际样品中Tb加标回收率为98.0%~105.3%,相对标准偏差为0.6%~4.2%.     

Protein-mediated efficient synergistic "antenna effect" in a ternary system in d(2)o medium

A ternary system consisting of a protein, catechin (either + or - epimer), and Tb(III) in suitable aqueous buffer medium at physiological pH (= 6.8) has been shown to exhibit highly efficient "antenna effect". Steady state and time-resolved emission studies of each component in the binary complexes (protein with Tb(III) and (+)- or (-)-catechin with Tb(III)) and the ternary systems along with the molecular docking studies reveal that the efficient sensitization could be ascribed to the effective shielding of microenvironment of Tb(III) from O-H oscillator and increased Tb-C (+/-) interaction in the ternary systems in aqueous medium. The ternary system exhibits protein-mediated efficient antenna effect in D(2)O medium due to synergistic ET from both the lowest ππ* triplet state of Trp residue in protein and that of catechin apart from protection of the Tb(III) environment from matrix vibration. The simple system consisting of (+)- or (-)-catechin and Tb(III) in D(2)O buffer at pH 6.8 has been prescribed to be a useful biosensor.     

Space- and time-resolved spectroscopic analyses in micrometre dimensions

Space- and time-resolved microspectroscopies have been developed and applied to the study of inhomogeneous structures in two-dimensional (microtubes and microchannels) and three-dimensional samples (polymer microspheres and microdroplets). In this particular technique, an optical trapping method was applied successfully to elucidate the chemical and physical characteristics of individual microparticles in solution. Confocal fluorescence microspectroscopy was also shown to have sufficient potential to observe directly the ion-exchange–diffusion processes of an ion in single ion-exchange polymer microparticles. The important roles of space- and time-resolved microspectroscopy in analysing several minute samples having different sizes and shapes are described in detail.     

Rapid screening detection of fluoroquinolone residues in milk based on turn-on fluorescence of terbium coordination polymer nanosheets

Trace fluoroquinolone residues in milk could be detected based on turn-on fluorescence of AMP/Tb CPNSs. It might provide a new platform for the rapid detection of antibiotic pollutants with the advantages of simple sample pretreatment processes and excellent selectivity.     

Prototype protein assembly as scaffold for time-resolved fluoroimmuno assays

Turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV) is an icosahedral plant virus with an average diameter of 28 nm and can be isolated in gram quantities from turnip or Chinese cabbage inexpensively. In this study, it was selected as a prototype bionanoparticle for time-resolved fluoroimmuno assay (TRFIA). Two types of reactive amino acid residues were employed to anchor luminescent terbium complexes and biotin groups based on orthogonal chemical reactions. While terbium complexes were used as luminescent signaling groups, biotin motifs acted as a model ligand for protein binding. The bioconjugation results were confirmed by MS and Western blot analysis. Steady-state and time-resolved luminescence study of the dual-modified viruses demonstrated that the spectroscopic properties of the Tb complex are unperturbed by the labeling procedure. The dual-modified particle was probed by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) experiments using avidin labeled with an Alexa488 fluorophore, which bound to the biotin on the surface of the particle, as an energy acceptor, and terbium complexes as an energy donor. The emission and excitation spectra of the dual-labeled TYMV particle displayed residual virus fluorescence and Tb luminescence upon ligand-centered excitation. The Tb luminescence lifetime was 1.62 ms and could be effectively fitted with a single-exponential behavior. In the TRFIA, an efficient transfer of 66% was observed, and the calculation using the F?rster radius of 41 A allowed for an estimation of the average donor-acceptor distance of 36 A. Our studies show that the two reactive sites can communicate with each other on the surface of a nanoscale biological assembly. In particular, the ligand-receptor binding (biotin and avidin in this paper) was not interfered with when anchored to the surface of TYMV. Therefore, as a prototype of polyvalent bionanoparticles, TYMV can be used as scaffold for sensor development with TRFIA.     

Rapid exchange luminescence: nitroxide quenching and implications for sensor applications

The quenching of terbium emission in the sensitized complex Tb3+-cs124-DTPA by nitroxide radical TEMPO derivatives in aqueous solutions has been studied with time-averaged and time-resolved methods. The time-resolved results show more quenching than the time-averaged values, opposite to the behavior expected for static quenching. A rapid exchange model with a slightly fluorescent fluorophore/quencher complex is proposed. Due to the long time scale of Tb3+ emission, dynamical averaging must be considered in the interpretation of experiments. The rapid exchange limit is shown to be consistent with the present results. The utility of these observations in the design of sensors that are not limited by a background level is noted.     

Flow-injection solid surface lanthanide-sensitized luminescence sensor for determination of <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-aminobenzoic acid

A single optosensing device based on lanthanide-sensitized luminescence was developed for determination of p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA). The method is based on the formation of a complex between PABA and Tb(III) immobilized on the solid phase (QAE A-25 resin) placed inside the flow cell. NaCl (1 M) was used as carrier solution and HCl (0.05 M) as eluent. The sample solutions of PABA (100 μL) containing Tb(III) and buffered at pH = 6.0 were injected into the carrier stream and the luminescence was measured at λ _ex = 290 nm and λ _em = 546 nm. The method shows a linear range from 0.2 to 6.0 μg mL⁻¹ with an RSD of 1.2% (n = 10) and a sampling frequency of 22 h⁻¹. A remarkable characteristic of the method is its high selectivity which allows it to be satisfactorily applied to the analysis of PABA in pharmaceutical samples without prior treatment. Figure Typical emission bands of Tb(III) in a solid-phase PABA–Tb(III) luminescence spectrum     

Cathodic electrochemiluminescence at double barrier Al/Al2O3/Al/Al2O3 tunnel emission electrodes

Double insulating barrier tunnel emission electrodes were fabricated by adding a new pure aluminum layer upon oxidized aluminum electrodes by vacuum evaporation and thermally oxidizing the new aluminum layer in air at room temperature. Resulting Al/Al₂O₃/Al/Al₂O₃ electrodes allow the use of various aluminum alloys in the electrode body necessary for hardness or shaping ability of the electrode while obtaining the luminescence properties of pure aluminum oxide. During electrical excitation of luminescent labels by cathodic hot electron injection into aqueous electrolyte solution, the background noise is mainly based on high-field-induced solid-state electroluminescence and F-center luminescence of the outer aluminum oxide film. The more defect states and/or impurity centers the outer oxide film contains, the higher is the background emission intensity. The present electrode fabrication method provides a considerable improvement in signal-to-noise ratio for time-resolved electrochemiluminescence (TR-ECL) measurements when the original native oxide film of the electrode body contains luminescence centers displaying long-lived luminescence. The excellent performance of the present electrodes is demonstrated by extremely low-level detection of Tb(III) chelates, luminol, Pt(II) coproporphyrin and Tb(III) labels in an immunometric immunoassay by time-resolved electrochemiluminescence.