Novel hydrogel pillar array based ratiometric multicolor fluorescence biosensor for visual detection of alkaline...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Enzyme-induced fluorescence is vital for biosensing and spectroscopic analysis.
• Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) detection is important for various diagnostic applications.
• Existing methods for ALP detection often lack sensitivity, portability, or ease of use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a sensitive and portable fluorescent sensor for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) detection.
• To utilize carbon dots (CDs) synthesized from p-aminophenol (AP) and 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) as fluorescent probes.
• To create a ratiometric fluorescence sensor integrated into a hydrogel for point-of-care testing (POCT).

Main Methods:

• Synthesized carbon dots (CDs) using p-aminophenol (AP) and 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) as precursors.
• Developed a ratiometric fluorescence sensor for ALP detection.
• Incorporated the sensor into an agarose hydrogel for portable, visual detection using colorimetric cards.

Main Results:

• Achieved a significantly reduced detection limit for ALP down to 0.075 μU/mL.
• Demonstrated successful semi-quantitative visual detection of ALP by untrained personnel.
• Validated the practical applicability of portable hydrogel sensors for rapid enzyme activity assays.

Conclusions:

• The developed ratiometric fluorescence sensing hydrogel offers a high-sensitivity, visualized, and portable platform for rapid enzyme activity assays.
• This approach is suitable for point-of-care testing (POCT) applications, enabling accessible diagnostics.
• The strategy highlights the potential of enzyme-induced fluorescence using carbon dots for advanced biosensing.