Core–shell “loading-type” nanomaterials enabling glucometer readout for portable and sensitive detection of p-aminophenol in real samples

• Published in: Mikrochimica acta (1966) Vol. 191; no. 3; p. 127
• Main Authors: Li, Xiang-Ling, Zhao, Lei, Wang, Zi-Heng, Song, Tian-Shun, Guo, Ting, Xie, Jing Jing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01.03.2024; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aminophenol; Aminophenols; Amplification; Analytical Chemistry; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Dextrose; Glucose; Manganese Compounds; Manganese dioxide; Microengineering; Nanochemistry; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticles; Nanostructures; Nanotechnology; Onsite; Original Paper; Oxides; Pollutants; Redox reactions; Silicon Dioxide; Soil water; Core–shell; “Loading-type” nanomaterials; MnO; Amplifiable nanoprobes; PAP, On-site detection; nanosheets; “Loading-type” nanomaterials; MnO2 nanosheets
• ISSN: 0026-3672; 1436-5073; 1436-5073
• DOI: 10.1007/s00604-024-06204-8

A one-target-many-trigger signal model sensing strategy is proposed for quickly, sensitive and on-site detection of the environmental pollutant p-aminophenol (PAP) by use of a commercial personal glucose meter (PGM) for signal readout with the core–shell “loading-type” nanomaterial MSNs@MnO 2 as amplifiable nanoprobes. In this design, the mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) nanocontainer with entrapped signal molecule glucose is coated with redoxable manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ) nanosheets to form the amplifiable nanoprobes (Glu-MSNs@MnO 2 ). When encountered with PAP, the redox reaction between the MnO 2 and PAP can induce the degradation of the outer layer of MSNs@MnO 2 , liberating multiple copies of the loaded glucose to light up the PGM signal. Owing to the high loading capability of nanocarriers, a “one-to-many” relationship exists between the target and the signal molecule glucose, which can generate adequate signal outputs to achieve the requirement of on-site determination of environmental pollutants. Taking advantage of this amplification mode, the developed PAP assay owns a dynamic linear range of 10.0–400 μM with a detection limit of 2.78 μM and provides good practical application performance with above 96.7 ± 4.83% recovery in environmental water and soil samples. Therefore, the PGM-based amplifiable sensor for PAP proposed can accommodate these requirements of environment monitoring and has promising potential for evaluating pollutants in real environmental samples. Graphical Abstract