A Triple-Color Ratiometric Fluorescence Platform for Rapid, Visualized Discrimination and Detection of Epinephrine,
Yingying Hu1, Jiahui Li1, Cancan Jiang1
1Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Rare Metal Chemistry, Hubei Key Laboratory of Pollutant Analysis & Reuse Technology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hubei Normal University, Huangshi, 435002, China.
Abstract:
Abnormal levels of catecholamines (CAs) suggest the possibility of some diseases. To meet the requirement of clinical diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, a novel triple-color ratiometric fluorescence platform was constructed for rapid, visualized identification and analysis of epinephrine (EP), nor-epinephrine (NEP) and dopamine (DA). Fe3O4 QDs sensor was first established for simply and rapid assaying CAs by monitoring the internal filtration effect signal of Fe3O4 QDs at 417 nm. To further effectively differentiate structurally similar EP, NEP and DA, ethylenediamine (EDA) and resorcinol (Rs) were employed as specific fluorogenic reagents. EDA specifically reacted with the primary amine groups of EP and NEP, generating distinct fluorescent products of EP-EDA (λem=520 nm) and NEP-EDA (λem = 496 nm), whereas DA was non-reactive. Conversely, Rs selectively reacted with DA to form a fluorescent adduct of DA-Rs (λem = 459 nm), leaving EP and NEP unaffected. Hence, a novel triple-color ratiometric fluorescence platform of Fe3O4 QDs/EDA and Fe3O4 QDs/Rs was respectively constructed for rapid, visualized identification and analysis of EP (I520/I417), NEP (I496/I417), and DA (I459/I417). Their limits of detection of EP, NEP and DA were sequentially 3.3, 13.1 and 15.6 nM. Compared with Fe3O4 QDs single fluorescence sensor, its sensitivity of the ratiometric fluorescence platform has not only been significantly increased by 1-2 orders of magnitude, but also it can more accurately identify and distinguish EP, NEP and DA in serum. This strategy provides a powerful new path for rapid biomedical analysis.
