Fluorescent-based micellar incorporated hydrogel materials for selective determination of long-chain aldehydes

A highly sensitive micelle-induced sensory has been developed for detection of long-chain aldehydes as potential biomarkers of respiratory cancers. The micelle-like sensor was fabricated through the partial self-assembly of CTAB and S2 surfactants, containing a fluorescent hydrazine-functionalized dye (Naph-NH₂). In principle, long-chain aldehydes with amphiphilic character act as the induced-fit surfactants to form well-entrapped micellar particles, as well as react with Naph-NH₂ to form hydrazone derivatives resulting in fluorescent enhancement. The limit of detection (LOD) of micellar Naph-NH₂/CTAB/S2 platform was calculated to be $$  64.09-80.98 µM for detection of long-chain aldehydes, which showed fluorescent imaging in lung cancer cells (A549). This micellar sensory probe demonstrated practical applicability for long-chain aldehyde sensing in human blood samples with an accepted percent recovery of ~ 94.02-102.4%. Beyond Naph-NH₂/CTAB/S2 sensor, the milcellar hybrid sensor was successfully developed by incorporating a micelle-like platform with supramolecular gel regarding to carboxylate-based gelators (Gel1), which showed a tenfold improvement in sensitivity. Expectedly, the determination of long-chain aldehydes through these sensing platforms holds significant promise for point-of-care cancer diagnosis and therapy.