A cobalt oxyhydroxide-modified upconversion nanosystem for sensitive fluorescence sensing of ascorbic acid in human...

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Biochemistry
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Ascorbic acid (AA) is a vital antioxidant and micronutrient involved in numerous biochemical processes.
• Accurate sensing of AA levels is crucial for understanding and diagnosing related diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a sensitive and selective fluorescence nanosystem for detecting ascorbic acid activity.
• To apply the nanosystem for monitoring AA levels in human plasma.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a cobalt oxyhydroxide (CoOOH)-modified upconversion nanosystem (UCNPs).
• Utilizing fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between UCNPs and CoOOH nanoflakes.
• Exploiting the AA-mediated redox reaction to inhibit FRET and recover upconversion emission.

Main Results:

• The nanosystem demonstrated sensitive and selective detection of AA activity.
• Successful monitoring of AA levels in human plasma samples with minimized background interference.
• The FRET inhibition mechanism was confirmed as the basis for sensing.

Conclusions:

• The CoOOH-modified upconversion nanosystem provides an effective platform for AA fluorescence sensing.
• This approach shows potential for research and clinical diagnosis of AA-related conditions.
• The developed nanosystem offers a valuable analytical tool for biomedical applications.