Ferric Ions Modulated Carbon Dots as a Fluorescent Probe for the Detection of Neopterin: An Inflammatory Prognostic Marker for Risk Prediction and Severity of Covid‐19

• Published in: ChemistrySelect (Weinheim) Vol. 8; no. 22
• Main Authors: Anju, S. Madanan, Asokan, Aswathy O., Varghese, Susan, Merin, K. Abraham, Shkhair, Ali Ibrahim, Jose, Vidya, Syamchand, S. Sasidharanpillai, George, Sony
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 13.06.2023
• Subjects: Biosensors; cardiovascular disease; cytokine storm; paper-based assay; viral infections
• ISSN: 2365-6549; 2365-6549
• DOI: 10.1002/slct.202300178

Neopterin (NPT) is a Guanosine Tri Phosphate (GTP) metabolite produced by activated macrophages and is considered a pro‐inflammatory and atherosclerotic agent. Beyond this NPT is a multi‐utility biomarker for assessing the status of various diseases including cardiovascular disease, depression, and malignant tumors as well as infections including viral and bacterial origin. Recent clinical investigations suggest the use NPT as a prognostic marker for the early prediction of the severity of Covid‐19, which is the prime concern of global public health. One of the main immunopathological characteristics of Covid‐19 is an excessive inflammatory response, and the severity of the infection is linked with macrophage activation syndrome (MAS). Hence the assessment of neopterin serves as an effective diagnostic tool for the risk prediction of Covid‐19. We present a fluorescence turn‐on sensor for neopterin using ferric ion‐modulated sulfur and nitrogen co‐doped carbon quantum dots. The linear detection of NPT was achieved with a limit of detection of 3.11 nM. The ferric ions quenched fluorescence of SNCDs were turn‐on specifically by the addition of neopterin which is employed for the detection of neopterin in the concentration range 0 to 10 nM.