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Boronic Acid-Decorated Carbon Dot-Based Semiselective Multichannel Sensor Array for Cytokine Discrimination and Oral
Jie Gao1, Xiaohua Zhu1, Ying Long2
1Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Research (Ministry of Education), College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, PR China.
Insights
This study introduces a novel multiplexed cytokine sensing method using carbon dots and MXenes for precise immune biomarker detection. The approach enables accurate discrimination of seven cytokines and aids in early oral cancer diagnosis from saliva.
Area of Science:
- Biomarker Discovery
- Nanomaterials Science
- Immunology
Background:
- Cytokines are crucial immune system components and diagnostic biomarkers.
- Single cytokine detection lacks the precision required for reliable clinical diagnosis.
- Multiplexed analysis is needed for accurate cytokine profiling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a pattern recognition-based method for multiplexed cytokine sensing.
- To utilize boronic acid-decorated carbon dots (BCDs) and arginine-modified titanium carbide (Ti3C2 MXenes) as a sensor array.
- To enable accurate discrimination of multiple cytokines and application in early cancer detection.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a sensor array using three-color-emitting BCDs and Ti3C2 MXenes.
- Exploitation of fluorescence quenching and restoration mechanisms based on cytokine interactions.
- Utilizing boronic acid-cytokine and arginine-glycan interactions for selective binding.
Main Results:
- Effective discrimination of seven cytokines and their mixtures at 20 ng mL-1 concentration.
- Demonstrated high specificity in classifying oral cancer saliva samples from healthy individuals.
- Achieved a rapid and noninvasive approach for cytokine analysis.
Conclusions:
- The developed sensor array offers a precise and reliable method for multiplexed cytokine detection.
- This technology facilitates early and timely clinical diagnosis, particularly for oral cancer.
- The pattern recognition approach advances biomarker analysis for immune-related diseases.
Abstract:
Cytokines are essential components of the immune system and are recognized as significant biomarkers. However, detection of a single cytokine is not precise and reliable enough to satisfy the requirements for diagnosis. Herein, we developed a pattern recognition-based method for the multiplexed sensing of cytokines, which involves three-color-emitting boronic acid-decorated carbon dots (BCDs) and arginine-modified titanium carbide (Ti3C2 MXenes) as the sensor array. Initially, the fluorescence signals of the three BCDs were quenched by Ti3C2 MXenes. In the presence of cytokines, the fluorescence intensity of the BCDs was restored or further quenched by different cytokines. The fluorescence response occurs in two steps: first, boronic acid interacts with cis-diol functional groups of cytokines, and second, arginine headgroup selectively interacts with glycans. By exploiting the different competing binding of the BCDs and the cytokines toward Ti3C2 MXenes, seven cytokines and their mixtures can be effectively discriminated at a concentration of 20 ng mL-1. Furthermore, our sensor array demonstrated an excellent performance in classifying human oral cancer saliva samples from healthy individuals with clinically relevant specificity. The noninvasive method offers a rapid approach to cytokine analysis, benefiting early and timely clinical diagnosis and treatment.
