Hydrogen Sulfide-Activated Background-Free Self-Referenced Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Nanoprobe for Real-Time...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Accurate monitoring of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is crucial for diagnosing and treating liver injury.
• Current methods for H2S quantification and real-time tracking are limited, especially in complex biological systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an activatable, background-free, ratiometric surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanoprobe for H2S detection.
• To enable quantitative and real-time monitoring of H2S dynamics during liver injury progression.

Main Methods:

• A novel nanoprobe (AMAP) was synthesized, featuring a gold core with a 4-mercaptobenzonitrile (MBN) reporter and a Prussian blue (PB) shell responsive to H2S.
• The nanoprobe utilizes distinct Raman signals in the biologically silent window (1800-2800 cm-1) for ratiometric quantification (I_PB/I_MBN).
• The AMAP nanoprobe was tested for H2S detection in living cells and for monitoring metformin-induced liver injury in cellular and tissue models.

Main Results:

• The AMAP nanoprobe achieved a detection limit of 3.05 μM for H2S with high sensitivity and accuracy.
• The ratiometric SERS signal (I_PB/I_MBN) accurately reflected H2S concentration due to PB shell decomposition.
• The nanoprobe successfully detected both exogenous and endogenous H2S fluctuations and monitored liver injury progression in real-time.

Conclusions:

• The developed AMAP nanoprobe offers a versatile platform for precise, dynamic H2S monitoring.
• This technology facilitates early diagnosis and mechanistic studies of H2S-associated liver diseases.
• The background-free, ratiometric SERS approach overcomes limitations of existing H2S detection methods.