Enhanced fluorescence of tetrasulfonated zinc phthalocyanine by graphene quantum dots and its application in molecular sensing/imaging

Nanomaterials-enriched sensors for detection of chiral pharmaceuticals

Advancements in nanoscience and nanotechnology have opened new pathways to fabricate novel nanostructures with interesting properties that would be used for different applications. In this respect, nanostructures comprising chirality are one of the most rapidly developing research fields encompassing chemistry, physics and biology. Chirality, also known as mirror asymmetry, describes the geometrical property of an object that is not superimposable on its mirror image. This characteristic plays a crucial role because these identical forms of chiral species in pharmaceuticals or food additives may exhibit different effects on living organisms. Therefore, chiral analysis is an important field of modern chemical analysis in health-related industries that are reliant on the production of enantiomeric compounds involving pharmaceuticals. This review covers the recent advances dealing with the synthesis, design and advantageous analytical performance of nanomaterials-enriched sensors used for chiral pharmaceuticals. We conclude this review with the challenges existing in this research field and our perspectives on some potential strategies with cutting-edge approaches for the rational design of sensors for chiral pharmaceuticals. We expect this comprehensive review will inspire future studies in nanomaterials-enriched chiral sensors.

A nanohybrid system based on covalently functionalized graphene quantum dots with dithienopyrrole derivative for the sensitive and selective fluorometric detection of Pb2+ ions

Recently graphene quantum dot (GQD) based nanohybrid materials have received much attention. Herein, a highly fluorescent biocompatible GQD and N-functionalized dithienopyrrole (DTP-PPD) modified nanohybrid system was fabricated (DTP-PPD-fn-GQD) for the first time. Modification resulted in stable fluorescence with a quantum yield of approximately 22% and 36 nm redshift compared to unmodified GQD. The apparent bandgap tuning along with fluorescence property changes was investigated by cyclic voltammetry measurements and density functional theory studies. This water-soluble system was then applied for the sensitive and selective detection of Pb²⁺ ions. As a result of a specific interaction towards Pb²⁺ ions, the fluorescence intensity was quenched. The detection limit is found to be 1.02 nM within the linear range of 3 to 30 nM. Finally, the feasibility of the developed probe was tested with real samples of water. Chemically modified GQDs are already widely exploited for Pb²⁺ sensing, whereas GQD/thiophene-based nanohybrid systems are less utilized. This newly developed nanohybrid of GQD (DTP-PPD-fn-GQD) has excellent fluorescence properties and bandgap tunability. Moreover, effective fluorometric sensing of Pb²⁺ ions in an aqueous medium is well investigated. This gives more insight into developing GQD-based highly promising nanohybrid colorimetric as well as fluorescent sensors.

A graphene quantum dots-Pb2+ based fluorescent switch for selective and sensitive determination of D-penicillamine

Taking consideration of metal-induced fluorescence quenching and excellent coordination effect of D-penicillamine (D-PA), a graphene quantum dots (GQDs)-based fluorescent switch for D-PA detection was designed and established firstly with the help of lead ions. GQDs obtained from citric acids made them rich in carboxyl and hydroxyl groups, giving GQDs the ability to combine with lead ions. As anticipated, the fluorescence intensity was quenched by Pb²⁺ through electron transfer process. Further, the addition of D-PA effectively recovered the fluorescence due to the departure of Pb²⁺ from GQDs aroused by the strong coordination between D-PA and Pb²⁺. Thus, a fluorescent switch was activated for D-PA detection. The fluorescence recovery efficiencies were found to be proportional to the concentration of D-PA in the range of 0.6-50 μmol L^-1 and the detection limit was 0.47 μmol L^-1. The real sample detection was performed in human urea sample and satisfactory recoveries of 96.84%-102.13% were obtained. The GQDs-Pb²⁺ based fluorescent switch sensing method was firstly established with low detection limit and wide linear range, making it a supplement and improvement for D-PA detection.

Impedance spectroscopic study on hybrid phthalocyanine/lead sulphide nanocomposite film

A unique organic/inorganic nanocomposite of non-aggregated lead sulphide (PbS) quantum dots (QDs) dispersed within a spun film of non-peripherally octakis(hexyl)-substituted metal-free phthalocyanine (C[Formula: see text]H[Formula: see text]Pc) has been prepared at room temperature by a simple and low-cost method. The frequency response of alternating current (AC) conduction in a 130 nm thick C[Formula: see text]H[Formula: see text]Pc /PbS film sandwiched between the indium-tin-oxide (ITO) and aluminum (Al) electrodes is found to obey the universal power-law. The cryogenic study of AC conduction reveals that the correlated barrier hopping (CBH) model closely fits to the experimental data at temperatures below 240 K. The parameters obtained by fitting the CBH model point out that the hopping process cannot take place directly between neighboring PbS QDs but involves the localized states within the matrix.