Molten-Salt-Assisted Annealing for Making Colloidal ZnGa2 O4 :Cr Nanocrystals with High Persistent Luminescence.

Persistent luminescent nanocrystals (PLNCs) in the sub-10 nm domain are considered to be the most fascinating inventions in lighting technology owing to their excellent performance in anti-counterfeiting, luminous paints, bioimaging, security applications, etc. Further improvement of persistent luminescence (PersL) intensity and lifetime is needed to achieve the desired success of PLNCs while keeping the uniform sub-10 nm size. In this work, the concept of molten salt confinement to thermally anneal as-synthesized ZnGa2 O4 :Cr3+ (ZGOC) colloidal NCs (CNCs) in a molten salt medium at 650 °C is introduced. This method led to significantly monodispersed and few agglomerated NCs with a much improved photoluminescence (PL) and PersL intensity without much growth in the size of the pristine CNCs. Other strategies such as i) thermal annealing, ii) overcoating, and iii) the core-shell strategy have also been tried to improve PL and PersL but did not improve them simultaneously. Moreover, directly annealing the CNCs in air without the assistance of molten salt could significantly improve both PL and PersL but led to particle heterogeneity and aggregation, which are highly unsuitable for in vivo imaging. We believe this work provides a novel strategy to design PLNCs with high PL intensity and long PersL duration without losing their nanostructural characteristics, water dispersibility and biocompatibility.

Nano-structured nickel oxide based DNA biosensor for detection of visceral leishmaniasis (Kala-azar).

Sol-gel synthesized nickel oxide (NiO) film deposited onto indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass plate has been utilized for the development of sensitive and stable DNA biosensor and demonstrated for diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis also known as Kala-azar. Leishmania specific sensor is developed by immobilizing 23mer DNA sequence (oligonucleotide) identified from 18S rRNA gene sequences from Leishmania donovani. Characterization studies like X-Ray Diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy revealed the formation of nano-structured NiO, while immobilization of single strand (ss)-DNA of Leishmania was supported by UV-visible, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy techniques. Response studies of ss-DNA/NiO/ITO bioelectrode are carried out using differential pulsed voltammetry in presence of methylene blue redox dye as a redox mediator. A linear response is obtained in the wide concentration range of 2 pg ml(-1) to 2 µg ml(-1) of complementary target genomic DNA (disease DNA) within the variation of 10% for 5 sets of studies. The observed results hold promise not only for diagnosis of Kala-azar patients but also hold enormous potential of the nano-NiO based probe for development of stable and sensitive biosensors.

A label-free genosensor for BRCA1 related sequence based on impedance spectroscopy.

A simple approach based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of a DNA hybridization sensor for breast cancer is reported by immobilizing a BRCA1 related 19 mer oligonucleotides ssDNA sequence on a glassy carbon electrode modified with a poly 5-carboxyindole conducting polymer. Differential pulse voltammetry, UV-vis spectrophotometry, FT-IR and impedance spectroscopy are performed for the study of electropolymerization of 5-carboxyindole, chemical immobilization of ssDNA and the hybridization event at the electrode surface. A significant change is observed in the impedance spectra before and after hybridization of ssDNA with the target probe under optimum conditions. The above described technique is found to be efficient enough to detect a single base mismatch in a target DNA sequence. All the experiments are performed in Tris-HCl buffer 20 mM (pH 6.5). A detection limit of 1 × 10(-17) M with a linear range from 1 × 10(-8) to 1 × 10(-18) is obtained after hybridization for the optimum time period. The proposed method is simple, free from any redox indicator/marker and possesses high sensitivity and selectivity. This technique is successfully demonstrated for detection of a single base mutation in a BRCA1 related sequence.

Novel conducting polymer functionalized with metal-cyclam complex and its sensor application: development of azidothymidine drug sensor.

Functionalization of polyanthranilic acid (PAA) a self-doped conducting polymer with Co(II) metal complex has been reported and is used in the development of azidothymidine drug sensor. For the first time synthesis of a new type of polymer complex of Co(II)-cyclam macrocyclic ligand (1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) with carboxylated polymer (as a second ligand) has been successfully accomplished and discussed in the present paper. The interaction of Co(II)-cyclam complex with polyanthranilic acid has been studied in solution phase using UV-vis spectra. Further, the formation and growth study of mixed ligand complex is carried out using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance. The characterization of solid mixed ligand complex Co(II)-cyclam-polyanthranilic acid (Co(II)-Cy-PAA) has been carried out for its structural, thermal and electrochemical properties using various techniques viz. FT-IR, SEM, ESR, DSC, impedance and electrochemical techniques. Electrochemical study shows the potential of mixed ligand complex towards catalytic and sensor applications. The mixed ligand complex for the first time is used in the development of "azidothymidine" anti-HIV drug sensor. The analysis of azidothymidine is known over hanging drop mercury electrode using electroreduction technique, however, for the first time its analysis is reported over graphite paste electrode modified with newly synthesized mixed ligand complex. Azidothymidine is quantified in wide range of concentration with 1 microM detection limit over modified graphite paste electrode, which shows potential to develop users friendly (non-toxic and simple) gadgets and low cost screen printed electrodes.

Trace analysis of cefotaxime at carbon paste electrode modified with novel Schiff base Zn(II) complex.

Cefotaxime a third generation cephalosporin drug estimation in nanomolar concentration range is demonstrated for the first time in aqueous and human blood samples using novel Schiff base octahedral Zn(II) complex. The cefotaxime electrochemistry is studied over graphite paste and Zn(II) complex modified graphite paste capillary electrodes in H(2)SO(4) (pH 2.3) using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. Cefotaxime enrichment is observed over Zn(II) complex modified graphite paste electrode probably due to interaction of functional groups of cefotaxime with Zn(II) complex. Possible interactions between metal complex and cefotaxime drug is examined by UV-vis and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) techniques and further supported by voltammetric analysis. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) with modified electrode is applied for the determination of cefotaxime in acidified aqueous and blood samples. Cefotaxime estimation is successfully demonstrated in the range of 1-500 nM for aqueous samples and 0.1-100 microM in human blood samples. Reproducibility, accuracy and repeatability of the method are checked by triplicate reading for large number of samples. The variation in the measurements is obtained less than 10% without any interference of electrolyte or blood constituents.