Simple Endotoxin Detection Using Polymyxin‐B‐Gated Nanoparticles

Abstract

A nanodevice based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles with rhodamine B in the pore framework, functionalized with carboxylates on the outer surface and capped with the cationic polymyxin B peptide, was used to selectively detect endotoxin in aqueous solutions with a limit of detection in the picomolar range.

Overview of the Evolution of Silica-Based Chromo-Fluorogenic Nanosensors

“…The applications of gated materials in recognition protocols have attracted great attention and systems similar to that described above for the detection of acetylcholine [58], endotoxin [59], miRNA-145 [60], glutathione [61], nitroaromatic explosives [62,63,64,65], borate [66], and glucose [67] were recently described.…”

Fluorogenic Detection of Human Serum Albumin Using Curcumin-Capped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles

“…In these sensing materials, the pores of the nanoparticles are loaded with a dye/fluorophore (acting as reporter) and the external surface is functionalized with bulky (supra)molecular ensembles, which disable the release of the entrapped reporter. In the presence of a target analyte, which selectively interacted with the gating (supra)molecular ensemble, pores opened, the dye/fluorophore is released and a macroscopic signal (changes in color or in the fluorescence) is finally generated [ 33 , 34 ]. Considering that most of the sensing protocols are designed to detect target analytes in water, the best shape of MCM-41 type mesoporous silica for its use in the preparation of gated sensory materials is nanoparticles of about ca.…”