What is it about?
In the quest for designing a cost-effective point-of-care device for neurotransmitter detection with rapid readout; we design an all-organic biosensor via precise molecular docking on 2D carbon material for the detection of dopamine (DA) in human biofluid such as serum/sweat/urine. Additionally, the underlying interaction mechanism of analyte-materials-transduction at the single-molecule level is investigated in order to fully comprehend the science behind the design.
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Why is it important?
As is known, the imbalance of monoamine neurotransmitters (including epinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin) in human beings will cause mental disorders and other acute diseases. Worldwide researchers are trying hard to develop molecular-recognition-based efficient chemosensors for early detection in human biofluids. Simultaneously obtaining a low detection limit while avoiding the use of harmful chemicals in the probes remains a significant difficulty in their design. The majority of the research reported up to this point gives specifics concerning the low detection of neurotransmitters, but falls short in terms of practicality and rapid readability at the point-of-care. And also, the rationale behind their design is still a mystery. If we clearly understand the science behind their action, the efficiency of the sensors can be improved.
Perspectives
An all organic-based sensor is developed through a one-step facile molecular engineering approach, consisting of three different arylamines (hydroxyl/carboxyl/sulfonate) anchored to the 2D-reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and the impact of immobilized molecules on their efficacy is studied in depth by experimental as well as computational approaches. The carboxyl-arylamine anchoring sensor outperforms others, detecting DA down to 10 pM (at a larger linear range of 10-10 M-10-4 M) in the presence of interferents. As a proof-of-concept, a flexible point-of-care device is fabricated, which demonstrates a distinct and selective response to dopamine down to 10 pM, 20 nM, and 40 nM in the real sample solutions serum, artificial sweat, and urine, respectively with rapid readout (1.8 s). This study not only provides new insights into the simple designing of non-invasive biosensors but also offers a new pathway for developing other forms of metal-free/organic functionalized highly efficient nano-biosensors/bioelectronics.
Dr Jagadeesh S
South China Normal University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Immobilized Molecules’ Impact on the Efficacy of Nanocarbon Organic Sensors for Ultralow Dopamine Detection in Biofluids, Advanced Materials Technologies, May 2022, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/admt.202200099.
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