Selective dual sensing strategy for free and vitamin D₃ micelles in food samples based on S,N-GQDs photoinduced...

A reliable nanotechnological sensing strategy, based on an S,N-co-doped graphene quantum dot (GQD) platform, has been developed to distinctly detect two key variants of vitamin D₃, specifically the free (VD₃) and the nanoencapsulated form (VD₃Ms). For this purpose, food-grade vitamin D₃ micelles were self-assembled using a low-energy procedure (droplet size: 49.6 nm, polydispersity index: 0.34, ζ-potential: -33 mV, encapsulation efficiency: 90 %) with an innovative surfactant mixture (Tween 60 and quillaja saponin). Herein, four fluorescent nanoprobes were also synthesized and thoroughly characterized: S,N-co-doped GQDs, α-cyclodextrin-GQDs, β-cyclodextrin-GQDs, and γ-cyclodextrin-GQDs. The goal was to achieve a selective dual sensing strategy for free VD₃ and VD₃Ms by exploiting their distinctive quenching behaviors. Thus, the four nanosensors allowed the individual sensing of both targets to be performed (except α-CD-GQD for VD₃Ms), but S,N-GQDs were finally selected due to selectivity and sensitivity (quantum yield, QY= 0.76) criteria. This choice led to a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanism associated with static quenching, where differentiation was evidenced through a displayed 13-nm hypsochromic (blue) shift when interacting with VD₃Ms. The reliability of this dual approach was demonstrated through an extensive evaluation of analytical performance characteristics. The feasibility and accuracy were proven in commercial food preparations and nutritional supplements containing declared nanoencapsulated and raw VD₃, whose results were validated by a paired Student's t-test comparison with a UV-Vis method. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first non-destructive analytical approach addressing the groundbreaking foodomic trend to distinctly detect different bioactive forms of vitamin D₃, while also preserving their native nanostructures as a chemical challenge, thus providing reliable information about their final stability and bioavailability.