The Enhanced Photoluminescence Properties of Carbon Dots Derived from Glucose: The Effect of Natural Oxidation.

The investigation of the fluorescence mechanism of carbon dots (CDs) has attracted significant attention, particularly the role of the oxygen-containing groups. Dual-CDs exhibiting blue and green emissions are synthesized from glucose via a simple ultrasonic treatment, and the oxidation degree of the CDs is softly modified through a slow natural oxidation approach, which is in stark contrast to that aggressively altering CDs' surface configurations through chemical oxidation methods. It is interesting to find that the intensity of the blue fluorescence gradually increases, eventually becoming the dominant emission after prolonging the oxidation periods, with the quantum yield (QY) of the CDs being enhanced from ~0.61% to ~4.26%. Combining the microstructure characterizations, optical measurements, and ultrafiltration experiments, we hypothesize that the blue emission could be ascribed to the surface states induced by the C-O and C=O groups, while the green luminescence may originate from the deep energy levels associated with the O-C=O groups. The distinct emission states and energy distributions could result in the blue and the green luminescence exhibiting distinct excitation and emission behaviors. Our findings could provide new insights into the fluorescence mechanism of CDs.

Development of a highly sensitive ampicillin sensor utilizing functionalized aptamers.

To develop a sensitive and simple ampicillin (AMP) sensor for trace antibiotic residue detection, the influencing factors of the modification effect of nanogold-functionalized nucleic acid sequences (Adenine: A, Thymine: T) were comprehensively analyzed in this study, including the modification method, base length and type. It was found that under the same base concentration, longer chains are more likely to reach saturation than shorter chains; and when the base concentration and length are both the same, A exhibits a higher saturation modification level compared to T. Based on these research findings, a highly sensitive fluorescence aptamer sensor for detecting ampicillin was constructed using the optimized functionalized sequence (ployA6-aptamer) and experimental conditions (6 hours binding time between nucleic acid aptamer and complementary strand, pH 7 working solution, 20 minutes detection time) based on the principle of fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The sensor has a detection range of 0.18 ng ml-1 to 3.11 ng ml-1 for ampicillin, with a detection limit of 0.04 ng ml-1. It exhibits significant selectivity and achieves an average recovery rate of 98.71% in tap water and 91.83% in milk. This method can be used not only for residual ampicillin detection, but also for highly sensitive detection of various antibiotics and small biological molecules by replacing the aptamer type. It provides a research basis for the design of highly sensitive fluorescence aptamer sensors and further applications of nanogold@DNA composite structures.

Current research status of tumor cell biomarker detection.

With the annual increases in the morbidity and mortality rates of tumors, the use of biomarkers for early diagnosis and real-time monitoring of tumor cells is of great importance. Biomarkers used for tumor cell detection in body fluids include circulating tumor cells, nucleic acids, protein markers, and extracellular vesicles. Among them, circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA, and exosomes have high potential for the prediction, diagnosis, and prognosis of tumor diseases due to the large amount of valuable information on tumor characteristics and evolution; in addition, in situ monitoring of telomerase and miRNA in living cells has been the topic of extensive research to understand tumor development in real time. Various techniques, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, immunoblotting, and mass spectrometry, have been widely used for the detection of these markers. Among them, the detection of tumor cell markers in body fluids based on electrochemical biosensors and fluorescence signal analysis is highly preferred because of its high sensitivity, rapid detection and portable operation. Herein, we summarize recent research progress in the detection of tumor cell biomarkers in body fluids using electrochemical and fluorescence biosensors, outline the current research status of in situ fluorescence monitoring and the analysis of tumor markers in living cells, and discuss the technical challenges for their practical clinical application to provide a reference for the development of new tumor marker detection methods.

Single-molecule RNA capture-assisted droplet digital loop-mediated isothermal amplification for ultrasensitive and rapid detection of infectious pathogens.

To minimize and control the transmission of infectious diseases, a sensitive, accurate, rapid, and robust assay strategy for application on-site screening is critical. Here, we report single-molecule RNA capture-assisted digital RT-LAMP (SCADL) for point-of-care testing of infectious diseases. Target RNA was captured and enriched by specific capture probes and oligonucleotide probes conjugated to magnetic beads, replacing laborious RNA extraction. Droplet generation, amplification, and the recording of results are all integrated on a microfluidic chip. In assaying commercial standard samples, quantitative results precisely corresponded to the actual concentration of samples. This method provides a limit of detection of 10 copies mL-1 for the N gene within 1 h, greatly reducing the need for skilled personnel and precision instruments. The ultrasensitivity, specificity, portability, rapidity and user-friendliness make SCADL a competitive candidate for the on-site screening of infectious diseases.

Design of a Digital LAMP Detection Platform Based on Droplet Microfluidic Technology.

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a rapid and high-yield amplification technology for specific DNA or RNA molecules. In this study, we designed a digital loop-mediated isothermal amplification (digital-LAMP)-functioning microfluidic chip to achieve higher sensitivity for detection of nucleic acids. The chip could generate droplets and collect them, based on which we could perform Digital-LAMP. The reaction only took 40 min at a constant temperature of 63 °C. The chip enabled highly accurate quantitative detection, with the limit of detection (LOD) down to 102 copies µL-1. For better performance while reducing the investment of money and time in chip structure iterations, we used COMSOL Multiphysics to simulate different droplet generation ways by including flow-focusing structure and T-junction structure. Moreover, the linear structure, serpentine structure, and spiral structure in the microfluidic chip were compared to study the fluid velocity and pressure distribution. The simulations provided a basis for chip structure design while facilitating chip structure optimization. The digital-LAMP-functioning chip proposed in the work provides a universal platform for analysis of viruses.

Effect of the incident polarization on in-plane and out-of-plane spin splitting near the critical angle.

To reveal the effect of the incident polarization on the spin splitting of the photonic spin Hall effect (that is, the spatial and angular in-plane and out-of-plane spin splitting), we systematically study the phenomena and characteristics of these four spin splitting generated when the beam with arbitrary linear polarization is reflected from the non-absorbing medium interface and the absorbing medium interface. Several features of the relationship between the incident polarization and the four kinds of spin splitting are found. In addition, It is also found that the in-plane angular and spatial shifts are significantly enhanced near the critical angle, even reaching their theoretical upper limit. However, the out-of-plane shifts are not enhanced. The research in this paper will contribute to a deeper understanding of PSHE. These findings can also provide new ideas and methods for precision metrology, photonic manipulation, and photonic device fabrication.

[Effect of critical process parameters on luminescence properties of Eu2+/Dy3+ co-doped high silica luminescence glass].

In the present work, Eu2+/Dy3+ co-doped high silica glasses with different process parameters were prepared and the effect of critical process parameters including phase separation temperature, solution concentration and sintering temperature on the luminescence properties of Eu2+/Dy3+ co-doped high silica glasses was investigated by means of measuring pore surface parameters of porous glasses, emission spectra, infrared absorption spectra and densities of high silica glasses. Pore structure parameters of porous glass samples and emission spectra of corresponding high silica glass samples with different phase separation temperatures show that the phase separation temperature has indirect effect on luminescence properties of high silica glass by influencing specific surface area value of corresponding porous glass. Specific surface area of porous glass changes when phase separation temperature changes. High silica glass achieves maximum emission intensity when the maximum specific surface area of porous glass is obtained. Luminescence intensity of high silica glass increases when specific surface area of porous glass increases. Emission spectra of high silica glass samples with different solution concentrations show that the emission intensities of Eu2+ and Dy3+ in high silica glass are enhanced with the increase in the Dy3+ concentration in solution; when the Dy3+ concentration is beyond 0.1 mol x L(-1), the emission intensities of Eu2+ and Dy3+ in high silica glass are both decreased due to the occurring of concentration quench of Dy3+ in the glass. Emission spectra and infrared absorption spectra of high silica glass samples with different sintering temperatures show that the emission intensity of high silica glass is increased with the increase in the sintering temperature because the content of residual hydroxyl groups -OH in the glass is decreased; when the sintering temperature is beyond 1000 degrees C, the high silica glass exhibits crystalline and the luminescence intensity decreases.