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Boronic Acid-Decorated Carbon Dot-Based Semiselective Multichannel Sensor Array for Cytokine Discrimination and Oral Cancer Diagnosis.

Jie GaoXiaohua ZhuYing LongMeiling LiuHaitao LiYouyu ZhangShouzhuo Yao
Published in: Analytical chemistry (2024)
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 (Ti 3 C 2 MXenes) as the sensor array. Initially, the fluorescence signals of the three BCDs were quenched by Ti 3 C 2 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 Ti 3 C 2 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.
Keyphrases
  • energy transfer
  • nitric oxide
  • high resolution
  • high throughput
  • quantum dots
  • single molecule
  • endothelial cells
  • binding protein
  • mass spectrometry
  • high density