Chemical sensing with familiar devices

Wet-Chemically Prepared Porphyrin Layers on Rutile TiO2(110)

Porphyrins are large organic molecules that are interesting for different applications, such as photovoltaic cells, gas sensors, or in catalysis. For many of these applications, the interactions between adsorbed molecules and surfaces play a crucial role. Studies of porphyrins on surfaces typically fall into one of two groups: (1) evaporation onto well-defined single-crystal surfaces under well-controlled ultrahigh vacuum conditions or (2) more application-oriented wet chemical deposition onto less well-defined high surface area surfaces under ambient conditions. In this study, we will investigate the wet chemical deposition of 5-(monocarboxyphenyl)-10,15,20-triphenylporphyrin (MCTPP) on well-defined rutile TiO₂(110) single crystals under ambient conditions. Prior to deposition, the TiO₂(110) crystals were also cleaned wet-chemically under ambient conditions, meaning none of the preparation steps were done in ultrahigh vacuum. However, after each preparation step, the surfaces were characterized in ultrahigh vacuum with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the result was compared with porphyrin layers prepared in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) by evaporation. The differences of both preparations when exposed to zinc ion solutions will also be discussed.

Selective Fluorescent Sensing of Adenine Via the Emissive Enhancement of a Simple Cobalt Porphyrin

Porphyrins absorb strongly in the visible region and are also excellent fluorophores that emit in the visible region that make them excellent candidates for fluorescence sensing and in vivo imaging. This work describes the fluorescence determination of adenine using cobalt complex of a simple porphyrin. Tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) and tetraphenylpophyrinatocobalt(II) (CoTPP) were synthesized and characterised. TPP on metallation with cobalt resulted in the red shift of fluorescence emission in the region 652 nm and 716 nm and showed an enhancement in the emission peaks with the addition of the nucleobase, adenine. CoTPP is found to be an efficient fluorescent sensor for adenine in DMF solvent. The fluorescence enhancement is due to the formation of the ground state complex formation between adenine and CoTPP, which is supported by experimental evidences from UV- visible spectra, time resolved fluorescence life time measurements etc. The detection limit of adenine was found to be 4.2 μM using the CoTPP fluorescent probe. The proposed sensor is found to be highly selective for adenine in presence of other nitrogen bases like guanine, cytosine, uracil, thymine, alanine, histidine etc. in 1:1 concentration.

Demetalation of Surface Porphyrins at the Solid-Liquid Interface

Understanding the factors that control the demetalation of surface porphyrins at the solid-liquid interface is important as the molecular properties of porphyrins are largely determined by their metal centers. In this work, we used X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to follow the demetalation of Zn and Cd tetraphenylporphyrin molecules (ZnTPP and CdTPP) adsorbed as three-monolayer-thin multilayer films on Au(111), by exposing the molecular layers to acidic aqueous solutions. We found that porphyrin molecules at the solid-liquid interface are less prone to lose their metal center than molecules in solution. We propose that this behavior is due to either the incoming protons provided by the solution or the outgoing metal ion having to pass through the hydrophobic porphyrin multilayers where they cannot be solvated. Our results are relevant for the design of molecular devices based on porphyrin molecules adsorbed on solid surfaces.

Porphyrins as Colorimetric and Photometric Biosensors in Modern Bioanalytical Systems

Advances in porphyrin chemistry have provided novel materials and exciting technologies for bioanalysis such as colorimetric sensor array (CSA), photo-electrochemical (PEC) biosensing, and nanocomposites as peroxidase mimetics for glucose detection. This review highlights selected recent advances in the construction of supramolecular assemblies based on the porphyrin macrocycle that provide recognition of various biologically important entities through the unique porphyrin properties associated with colorimetry, spectrophotometry, and photo-electrochemistry.

Surface Coupling of Octaethylporphyrin with Silicon Tetrachloride

The surface assembly of 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethylporphyrin (OEP) using silicon tetrachloride as a coupling agent was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Nanopatterned films of Si-OEP were prepared by protocols of colloidal lithography to evaluate the morphology, thickness, and molecular orientation for samples prepared on Si(111). The natural self-stacking of porphyrins can pose a challenge for molecular patterning. When making films on surfaces, porphyrins will self-associate to form co-planar configurations of random stacks of molecules. There is a tendency for the flat molecules to orient spontaneously in a side-on arrangement that is mediated by physisorption to the substrate as well as by π-π interactions between macrocycles to form a layered arrangement of packed molecules, analogous to a stack of coins. When silicon tetrachloride is introduced to the reaction vessel, the coupling between the surface and porphyrins is mediated through covalent Si-O bonding. For these studies, surface structures of Si-OEP were formed that are connected with a Si-O-Si motif to a silicon atom coordinated to the center of the porphyrin macrocycles. Protocols of colloidal lithography were used as a tool to prepare surface structures and films of Si-OEP to facilitate surface characterizations. Conceptually, by arranging the macrocycles of porphyrins with defined orientation, local AFM surface measurements can be enabled to help address mechanistic questions about how molecules self-assemble and bind to substrates.

Porphyrins for olfaction mimic: The Rome Tor Vergata approach

The impressive chemistry shown by porphyrins in natural systems is particularly attractive for exploitation in chemical sensors. In these devices the sensing mechanisms can mimic most of the porphyrin biological reactivity, such as reversible binding, activation of small molecules, redox activity, and photoactivated processes. The simultaneous presence of multiple binding mechanisms allows porphyrins to interact with a large variety of analytes. This feature reduces the selectivity, but prompts the development of sensor arrays, where the cross-selectivity of more sensors is used to classify and identify samples characterized by a complex composition. Since 1995 the Sensors Group of the University of Rome Tor Vergata has exploited these features to prepare sensor arrays based on different transducers and aimed at several applications. These kinds of devices have been reported as electronic noses (gaseous phase analytes) and electronic tongues (liquid phase analytes) to underline that their working mechanisms are tentatively similar to that of biological senses. We report here some of the results obtained.

Systematic approach in Mg2+ ions analysis with a combination of tailored fluorophore design

A systematic study of a series of diaza-18-crown-6 8-hydroxyquinoline (DCHQ) chemosensors, devoted to Mg(II) ion detection, was performed. Functionalization of DCHQ by peripheral substituents allowed the development of novel all-solid-state optodes via inclusion inside PVC-based polymeric films. The influence on the DCHQ-based optode response of the lipophilic sites functionalization and of the nature of the plasticizer, was investigated. Fluorimetric studies on optodes sensitivity towards a number of different metal cations (Ca²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Li⁺, Co²⁺, Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, Hg²⁺, Zn²⁺) and NH₄⁺ were carried out. The results demonstrated the suitability of the DCHQ optodes to perform fast monitoring (<10s) of magnesium (II) ions. Emission light signal was sufficiently brilliant to be captured by a low-cost computer webcam. The phenyl-substituted DCHQ-Ph derivative showed the best performance with a wide range for Mg(II) ion determination between 2.7 × 10^-7 and 2.2 × 10^-2 mol/L. It was possible, therefore, to determine the concentrations of Mg(II) in commercial fertilizer samples by DCHQ-Ph-based optodes with acceptable results: recoveries of 96.2-104.9% and relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 6) less than 5%. Moreover, in comparison to single sensors, the use of an array composed of five optodes (the ones showing the best performances in the preliminary tests) has allowed to reduce the RSD of magnesium determination in real samples (down to 3.7% with respect to 5.5% for single optodes) and to achieve a detection limit (estimated by s/n = 3 method) as low as 4.6 × 10^-7 mol/L.

Porphyrinoids for Chemical Sensor Applications

Porphyrins and related macrocycles have been intensively exploited as sensing materials in chemical sensors, since in these devices they mimic most of their biological functions, such as reversible binding, catalytic activation, and optical changes. Such a magnificent bouquet of properties allows applying porphyrin derivatives to different transducers, ranging from nanogravimetric to optical devices, also enabling the realization of multifunctional chemical sensors, in which multiple transduction mechanisms are applied to the same sensing layer. Potential applications are further expanded through sensor arrays, where cross-selective sensing layers can be applied for the analysis of complex chemical matrices. The possibility of finely tuning the macrocycle properties by synthetic modification of the different components of the porphyrin ring, such as peripheral substituents, molecular skeleton, coordinated metal, allows creating a vast library of porphyrinoid-based sensing layers. From among these, one can select optimal arrays for a particular application. This feature is particularly suitable for sensor array applications, where cross-selective receptors are required. This Review briefly describes chemical sensor principles. The main part of the Review is divided into two sections, describing the porphyrin-based devices devoted to the detection of gaseous or liquid samples, according to the corresponding transduction mechanism. Although most devices are based on porphyrin derivatives, seminal examples of the application of corroles or other porphyrin analogues are evidenced in dedicated sections.

Colorimetric detection of hazardous gases using a remotely operated capturing and processing system

This paper presents an electronic system for the automatic detection of hazardous gases. The proposed system implements colorimetric sensing algorithms, thus providing a low-cost solution to the problem of gas sensing. It is remotely operated and it performs the tasks of image capturing and processing, hence obtaining colour measurements in RGB (Red-Green-Blue) space that are subsequently sent to a remote operator via the internet. A prototype of the system has been built to test its performance. Specifically, experiments have been carried out aimed at the detection of CO, CO2, NO, NO2, SO2 and formaldehyde at diverse concentrations by using a chromogenic array composed by 13 active and 2 inert compounds. Statistical analyses of the results reveal a good performance of the electronic system and the feasibility of remote hazardous gas detection using colorimetric sensor arrays.

Imaging and sizing of single DNA molecules on a mobile phone

DNA imaging techniques using optical microscopy have found numerous applications in biology, chemistry and physics and are based on relatively expensive, bulky and complicated set-ups that limit their use to advanced laboratory settings. Here we demonstrate imaging and length quantification of single molecule DNA strands using a compact, lightweight and cost-effective fluorescence microscope installed on a mobile phone. In addition to an optomechanical attachment that creates a high contrast dark-field imaging setup using an external lens, thin-film interference filters, a miniature dovetail stage and a laser-diode for oblique-angle excitation, we also created a computational framework and a mobile phone application connected to a server back-end for measurement of the lengths of individual DNA molecules that are labeled and stretched using disposable chips. Using this mobile phone platform, we imaged single DNA molecules of various lengths to demonstrate a sizing accuracy of <1 kilobase-pairs (kbp) for 10 kbp and longer DNA samples imaged over a field-of-view of ∼2 mm2.

Phthalocyanine-based hybrid materials for chemosensing

In the present review, we show how the chemical variability of phthalocyanines allowed to synthesize a broad range of hybrid materials. The combination of phthalocyanines or related derivatives with polymers or carbonaceous materials led to efficient chemical sensors. It is shown how the incorporation of macrocyclic molecules in hybrid materials highly modifies the structural and morphological characteristics of the materials. Rugosity, specific surface and porosity being key parameters in the analyte-sensing material interactions, these modifications highly improve the performance of chemical sensors. This is the reason why they are particularly promising materials for the development of new chemical sensors, associated with electrochemical, conductometric or optical transducers.

A ferrocene-porphyrin ligand for multi-transduction chemical sensor development

5,10,15,20-Tetraferrocenyl porphyrin, H2TFcP, a simple example of a donor-acceptor system, was tested as ligand for the development of a novel multi-transduction chemical sensors aimed at the determination of transition metal ions. The fluorescence energy transfer between ferrocene donor and porphyrin acceptor sub-units was considered. The simultaneously measured optical and potentiometric responses of solvent polymeric membranes based on H2TFcP permitted the detection of lead ions in sample solutions, in the concentration range from 2.7 × 10(-7) to 3.0 × 10(-3) M. The detection limit of lead determination was 0.27 μM, low enough to perform the direct analysis of Pb2+ in natural waters.

Fluorescent pH-sensitive nanoparticles in an agarose matrix for imaging of bacterial growth and metabolism

Living color: fluorescent pH-sensitive nanoparticles 12 nm in diameter were prepared and incorporated into agarose gel in a Petri dish to image pH changes during bacterial growth and metabolism.

Embedded adaptive optics for ubiquitous lab-on-a-chip readout on intact cell phones

The evaluation of disposable lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices on cell phones is an attractive alternative to migrate the analytical strength of LOC solutions to decentralized sensing applications. Imaging the micrometric detection areas of LOCs in contact with intact phone cameras is central to provide such capability. This work demonstrates a disposable and morphing liquid lens concept that can be integrated in LOC devices and refocuses micrometric features in the range necessary for LOC evaluation using diverse cell phone cameras. During natural evaporation, the lens focus varies adapting to different type of cameras. Standard software in the phone commands a time-lapse acquisition for best focal selection that is sufficient to capture and resolve, under ambient illumination, 50 μm features in regions larger than 500 × 500 μm². In this way, the present concept introduces a generic solution compatible with the use of diverse and unmodified cell phone cameras to evaluate disposable LOC devices.

Self-metalation of 2H-tetraphenylporphyrin on Cu(111): an x-ray spectroscopy study

The bonding and the temperature-driven metalation of 2H-tetraphenylporphyrin (2H-TPP) on the Cu(111) surface under ultrahigh vacuum conditions were investigated by a combination of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy with density functional theory calculations. Thin films were prepared by organic molecular beam epitaxy and subsequent annealing. Our systematic study provides an understanding of the changes of the spectroscopic signature during adsorption and metalation. Specifically, we achieved a detailed peak assignment of the 2H-TPP multilayer data of the C1s and the N1s region. After annealing to 420 K both XPS and NEXAFS show the signatures of a metalloporphyrin, which indicates self-metalation at the porphyrin-substrate interface, resulting in Cu-TPP. Furthermore, for 2H-TPP monolayer samples we show how the strong influence of the copper surface is reflected in the spectroscopic signatures. Adsorption results in a strongly deformed macrocycle and a quenching of the first NEXAFS resonance in the nitrogen edge suggesting electron transfer into the LUMO. For Cu-TPP the spectroscopic data indicate a reduced interaction of first-layer molecules with the substrate as demonstrated by the relaxed macrocycle geometry.

Spectral fingerprinting of porphyrins for distributed chemical sensing

Recent progress in spectral fingerprinting of fluorescent indicators using distributed instrumentation based on consumer electronic devices is reviewed. In particular, the evaluation of disposable assays using a computer screen photo-assisted technique (CSPT) is discussed. Sample identification and optimization strategies are analyzed as well as the underlying theoretical background for polychromatic spectral fingerprinting.

An investigation on the role of spike latency in an artificial olfactory system

Experimental studies have shown that the reactions to external stimuli may appear only few hundreds of milliseconds after the physical interaction of the stimulus with the proper receptor. This behavior suggests that neurons transmit the largest meaningful part of their signal in the first spikes, and than that the spike latency is a good descriptor of the information content in biological neural networks. In this paper this property has been investigated in an artificial sensorial system where a single layer of spiking neurons is trained with the data generated by an artificial olfactory platform based on a large array of chemical sensors. The capability to discriminate between distinct chemicals and mixtures of them was studied with spiking neural networks endowed with and without lateral inhibitions and considering as output feature of the network both the spikes latency and the average firing rate. Results show that the average firing rate of the output spikes sequences shows the best separation among the experienced vapors, however the latency code is able in a shorter time to correctly discriminate all the tested volatile compounds. This behavior is qualitatively similar to those recently found in natural olfaction, and noteworthy it provides practical suggestions to tail the measurement conditions of artificial olfactory systems defining for each specific case a proper measurement time.