Fluorescent biosensor based cerium-doped carbon quantum dots for albumin detection

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Accurate detection of albumin proteins is vital for diagnosing various diseases.
• Existing diagnostic methods may require improvement in sensitivity and speed.
• Bovine serum albumin (BSA) is a key biomarker in biological samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel fluorescent biosensor for the detection of bovine serum albumin (BSA).
• To utilize cerium (Ce) doped carbon quantum dots (CQDs) for enhanced fluorescence detection.
• To validate the sensor's performance in clinical samples like blood and urine.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of pristine CQDs and Ce-CQDs via citric acid pyrolysis.
• Characterization of CQDs and Ce-CQDs using emission spectroscopy.
• Quantification of BSA based on the photoluminescence (PL) enhancement of Ce-CQDs.

Main Results:

• Ce-CQDs exhibited an emission peak at 426 nm, showing enhanced photoluminescence with BSA.
• The developed biosensor detected BSA with high sensitivity and selectivity over a concentration range of 1 to 1000 µM.
• A low detection limit of 0.98 µM was achieved, suitable for clinical analysis.
• Accurate BSA quantification in human serum and urine samples with satisfactory recovery percentages was demonstrated.

Conclusions:

• Cerium-doped carbon quantum dots serve as an effective fluorescent probe for BSA detection.
• The developed Ce-CQDs-based biosensor offers a rapid (within 2 minutes), sensitive, and selective method for BSA quantification.
• This technology shows significant potential for clinical diagnostics and disease monitoring.