Triggering gold nanoparticles formation on a quartz surface by nanosecond pulsed laser irradiation.

A new direct and straightforward method is proposed to synthesize bare Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) on a quartz surface by nanosecond 532 nm pulsed laser irradiation of a quartz surface in contact with Au(iii) precursor solution. The characterisation by XPS, UV-Vis, SEM and AFM measurements demonstrate the formation of bare Au NPs anchored on the quartz surface with a mean height of 27 ± 10 nm localized in the laser irradiation area. The main features of this approach are their simplicity, quick fabrication and the large surface area covered by Au NPs. The absence of ligands/stabilizing agents on the Au NPs makes this substrate very suitable for its direct surface modification opening the range of applications in biology, medicine, sensing, catalysis, among others. As a proof of concept, the capabilities and advantages of this substrate as Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) platform were tested demonstrating the absence of any Raman signal overlapping with the analyte in the whole spectral range.

Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin enhanced fluorimetric method for the determination of melatonin and 5-methoxytryptamine.

The effects of native cyclodextrins (alpha, beta or gamma), hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, beta-cyclodextrin solubilized in urea, soluble starch and glucose in water solution on the fluorescence behaviour of melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) (M) and 5-methoxytryptamine [5-methoxy-3-(2-aminoethyl)indole] (5M) were determined. In addition, the effect of methanol and propanol with and without beta-cyclodextrin or hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin was assessed. From the fluorescence changes with pH, the values of the pKa for the ground (9.9 +/- 0.2) and the excited state (7.7 +/- 0.2) for 5M were determined. From the fluorescence changes with beta-cyclodextrin or hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, the association constants of M, 5MH [5-methoxy-3-(2-ammoniumethyl)indole] and 5M with the two hosts were determined. The values with beta-cyclodextrin were KAssoc5MH = (1.4 +/- 0.4) x 10(2) mol-1 dm3, KAssoc5M = (1.6 +/- 0.1) x 10(2) mol-1 dm3 and KAssocM = (1.1 +/- 0.2) x 10(2) mol-1 dm3, and with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin KAssoc5MH = (1.1 +/- 0.3) x 10(2) mol-1 dm3, KAssoc5M = (2.5 +/- 0.1) x 10(2) mol-1 dm3 and KAssocM = (1.51 +/- 0.07) x 10(2) mol-1 dm3. The ratios of the fluorescence quantum yields for the bound and free substrate (phi b/phi f) were in the range 1.15-1.48. The detection limits under the optimum conditions were 0.381 +/- 0.001 ng cm-3 for the complex 5MH-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin in water and 0.290 +/- 0.001 ng cm-3 for the complex M-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin in water with 5% of methanol. The recovery of melatonin from pharmaceutical preparations was 98-103% with an RSD of 2%. The recovery from rat pineals was also good. The method is direct, simple and accurate.

Cyclodextrin enhanced fluorimetric method for the determination of tryptamine.

The effect of native cyclodextrins (alpha-, beta- or gamma- with six, seven or eight glucose units, respectively), hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, beta-cyclodextrin solubilized in urea, soluble starch and glucose in water solution on the fluorescence behaviour of tryptamine [3-(2-aminoethyl)indole] (T) was determined. In addition, the effect of methanol and propanol with and without beta-cyclodextrin or hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin was ascertained. From the fluorescence changes with pH and with beta-cyclodextrin or hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, the values of the pKa of the ground and excited states and the association constants of T and TH [3-(2-ammoniumethyl)indole] with the two hosts were determined. The values are pKa = 9.5 +/- 0.2 and pKa* = 8.4 +/- 0.2; KAssocTH = (1.6 +/- 0.3) x 10(2) mol-1 dm3 and KAssocT = (2.8 +/- 0.3) x 10(2) mol-1 dm3 with beta-cyclodextrin, KAssocTH = (1.8 +/- 0.5) x 10(2) mol-1 dm3 and KAssocT = (4.9 +/- 0.9) x 10(2) mol-1 dm3 with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin. The ratio of the fluorescence quantum yields for the bound and free substrate (phi b/phi f) were in the range 1.25-1.33. The detection limit for the better conditions where the host-guest interactions produce fluorescence enhancement was 0.454 +/- 0.002 ng ml-1 for the complex T-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin in water. The method is simpler than others reported previously.