Cross-Reactive Sensor Array for Metal Ion Sensing Based on Fluorescent SAMs.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Fluorescent self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on glass surfaces were previously developed as novel sensing materials for metal ions.
• These SAMs consist of fluorophores and small molecules sequentially deposited on a monolayer, leveraging surface preorganization to simplify receptor design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate an effective microarray for screening metal ions using fluorescent sensing SAMs.
• To characterize the properties of these sensing SAMs and their responses to various cations.

Main Methods:

• A combinatorial approach was used to generate a library of fluorescent sensing SAMs.
• These SAMs were immobilized on glass surfaces within a custom-made 140-well microtiter plate.
• The microarrays were screened for responses to different metal cations.

Main Results:

• The fabricated microarrays demonstrated varied responses to a series of cations, including Cu²⁺, Co²⁺, Pb²⁺, Ca²⁺, and Zn²⁺.
• The sensing SAMs exhibited non-selective interactions, generating characteristic "fingerprint" patterns for each analyte.
• These fingerprint responses allow for the identification of multiple analytes based on their unique response patterns.

Conclusions:

• The developed fluorescent SAM microarrays provide an effective platform for the screening of metal ions.
• The combinatorial approach and fingerprint-type responses offer a versatile strategy for sensing applications.
• This method avoids the need for highly selective receptors, enabling the detection of analytes through pattern recognition.