Abstract
DNA-encapsulated silver nanodots are noteworthy candidates for bio-imaging probes, thanks to their excellent photophysical properties. The spectral shift of silver nanodot emitters from red to blue shows excellent correlations with the concentration of reactive oxygen species, which makes it possible to develop new types of probes for reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hypochlorous acid (HOCl), given the outstanding stability of the blue in oxidizing environments. HOCl plays a role as a microbicide in immune systems but, on the other hand, is regarded as a disease contributor. Moreover, it is a common ingredient in household cleaners. There are still great demands to detect HOCl fluxes and their physiological pathways. We introduce a new ratiometric luminescence imaging method based on silver nanodots to sensitively detect hypochlorite. The factors that influence the accuracy of the detection are investigated. Its availability has also been demonstrated by detecting the active component in cleaners.PACS82; 82.30.Nr; 82.50.-m
Highlights
Developing bright luminescent probes is still one of the targets for achieving better optical imaging quality [1,2]
Even though numerous bio-imaging probes have been developed in the last few decades [5], the organic fluorophores used for signaling still suffer from low probe brightness, poor photostability, and oxygen bleaching [6,7]
The peak shift depends on the concentration of oxidizing agents, which suggests that the remaining borohydride used as a reducing agent for silver nanodot preparation may weaken the oxidizing capacity of oxidants
Summary
Developing bright luminescent probes is still one of the targets for achieving better optical imaging quality [1,2]. After the report of the first stable silver nanodots in aqueous solution in 2002 [12], many scaffolds have been developed, for example, based on poly(acrylic acid) [13] or short peptides [14], which stabilize the reduced silver atoms Among these scaffolds, DNA stabilization has induced the best photophysical characteristics of AgNDs, such as high molar extinction coefficients, high emission quantum yields, and noticeably high photostability. We were inspired to develop a different class of OCl− probe using our oxidative DNA-encapsulated AgNDs. Prior to evaluating the bio-suitability of our probe, in this report, we investigated the parameters for accurate detection of hypochlorite and evaluated the derived ratiometric imaging method by monitoring the concentration of OCl− in commercially available cleaners
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