Nonspecific interactions of conjugated polymers (CPs)
with various
proteins prove to be a major impediment for researchers when designing
a suitable CP-based probe for the amplified and selective recognition
of particular proteins in complex body fluids. Herein, a new strategy
is presented for the precise and specific monitoring of clinically
important serum albumin (SA) proteins at the nanomolar level using
fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-modulated CP–surfactant
ensembles as superior sensing materials. In brief, the newly designed
color-tunable CP PF–DBT–Im undergoes intense aggregation
with the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), enabling drastic
change in the emission color from violet to deep red due to intermolecular
FRET. The emission of PF–DBT–Im/SDS ensembles then changed
from deep red to magenta specifically on addition of SAs owing to
the exclusive reverse FRET facilitated by synergistic effects of electrostatic
interactions, hydrophobic forces, and the comparatively high intrinsic
quantum yield of SAs. Interestingly, PF–DBT–Im itself
could not differentiate SAs from other proteins, demonstrating the
superiority of the PF–DBT–Im/SDS self-assembly over
PF–DBT–Im. Finally, an affordable smartphone-integrated
point-of-care (PoC) device is also fabricated as a proof-of-concept
for the on-site and rapid monitoring of SAs, validating the potential
of the system in long-term clinical applications.
A kind of novel multi-stimuli responsive molecularly imprinted polymers with bovine serum protein (BSA) as dummy template (MSR-BSA-MIPs) was fabricated for specific recognition of human serum protein (HSA) with modulated...
Among several detection techniques, fluorescence based optical sensors are regarded as superior owing to distinct features like simplicity, remarkable sensitivity and prompt signal response time. Signal amplification remains most effective strategy to further boost the performance of such sensors. Thanks to the unique light–harvesting and energy transfer properties of conjugated polymers (CPs) which make them as promising and key candidates for achieving proficient sensing through amplified fluorescence signal. Owing to such remarkable properties, past decade has witnessed numerous CPs based optical sensors and devices for monitoring of various species. In this review, we first introduce CPs and highlight their exclusive characteristics. Then, the superiority of CPs over small molecule based sensors has been demonstrated along with thorough discussion on underlying sensing mechanism. Afterwards, it is described how solid state sensing using CPs dominates over solution based sensing in terms of sensitivity. Later on, CP-amplified fluorescence detection of some explosives, pollutants, biomarker etc. on solid support has been summarized by shedding light on some recent representative papers. Finally, the current challenges and future prospective for advancement of the respective research area has been discussed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.