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Single Polylactic Acid Nanowire for Highly Sensitive and Multifunctional Optical Biosensing
Weina Zhang1, Pu Liu1, Guowei Yang1
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|June 10, 2021
Summary
Polylactic acid nanowires offer a novel, biodegradable solution for highly sensitive biosensing. These biocompatible nanowires enable ultralow detection limits for biological molecules and real-time monitoring of cellular processes.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Optical Biosensing
Background:
- Existing nanowire biosensors use non-degradable materials unsuitable for long-term biological applications.
- Biofriendly alternatives often lack the required sensitivity for detecting subtle biological changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop novel, biocompatible, and biodegradable nanowires for high-sensitivity optical biosensing.
- To demonstrate the application of these nanowires in detecting ultralow concentrations of biomarkers and monitoring cellular processes.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of polylactic acid (PLA) nanowires using a direct drawing method.
- Utilizing the evanescent wave and surface carboxyl groups for enhanced sensitivity.
- Doping PLA nanowires with quantum dots for additional sensing capabilities (e.g., pH).
Main Results:
- Achieved an ultralow limit of detection (1.38 × 10⁻¹⁷ M) for cytochrome c, significantly surpassing metal/semiconductor nanosensors.
- Enabled label-free, real-time monitoring of cell apoptosis.
- Demonstrated pH sensing capabilities in functionalized PLA nanowires.
Conclusions:
- PLA nanowires represent a promising, multifunctional platform for advanced biosensing and biodetection.
- This innovation has the potential to significantly advance the field of photomedicine.
