Biogenic amine sensing and cancer detection in human urine based on a light-activated photocatalytic and pH-controlled probe

Abstract

Development of novel biomarker and achievement of simple, sensitive, rapid and economical detection of cancer in clinic have become more urgent and indispensable. In this paper, a light-activated sensor, PMI-B, was developed. The selective sensing of BAs both in solution and in the PA membrane was achieved, especially for spermine. PMI-B exhibited selective sensing of BAs by a synergistic mechanism based on an autoacting photocatalytic mechanism and a pH-controlled deprotonation mechanism. Furthermore, the detection of cancer based on PMI-B with twenty-six human urine samples was investigated by UV–vis and fluorescence spectra. The ratio differences of A741/A561 and A741/A491 can effectively be used to classify breast cancer and other female cancer and lesion patients. Compared with the established tumor markers, the specificity of the A741/A516 value (the raw median value = 0.27) for PMI-B with various human urine samples was a potential malignant tumor marker for breast cancer patients.