AHMT functionalized g-C3N4 quantum dots/Au based localized surface plasmon resonance sensors for ultrasensitive and rapid detection of adrenaline

Abstract

Adrenaline (ADR) is a neurotransmitter/hormone responsible for stress syndrome and the concentration level in blood is an indication of health consequences. Herein, a simple and cost-effective nanosensors based on the interaction between highly fluorescent g-C3N4 quantum dots (CNQDs) and surface plasmon resonance gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in the presence of 4-amino-3-hydrazino-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole (AHMT) was developed for ultra-sensitive and selective detection of ADR. After functionalization of AHMT onto both CNQDs and AuNPs, AHMT can serve as the recognizer to link with ADR by hydrogen bond, resulting in the non-radiative energy transfer from CNQD to AuNP to quench the fluorescence intensity. The quenching efficiency is highly dependent on ADR concentration and the size of AuNPs. When 45 nm AuNPs is combined with CNQDs, an excellent linear relationship with a wide dynamic range of (10 pM – 100 µM) and a low limit of detection of 7 pM is obtained for ADR detection. Moreover, the developed sensor exhibits high selectivity towards ADR detection over 25 potential interferences. These findings have demonstrated the superiority of AHMT-conjugated CNQD-AuNP sensing probe for ADR detection, which can be applied to design of a newly developed nanosensing platform for the early detection and therapeutic diagnosis of ADR associated diseases in biomedical applications.