Molecular gated nanoporous anodic alumina for the detection of cocaine

Autors de IIS La Fe

• Angela Ribes Momparler

  Autor

• Elena Aznar Gimeno

  Autor

• Félix Sancenón Galarza

  Autor

• Trini Pardo

  Autor

• Ramón Martínez Máñez

  Autor

Autors aliens a IIS La Fe

• Xifré-Pérez E
• Marsal LF

Grups d'Investigació

• Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Nanomedicina y Sensores

  Leader

  Ramón Martínez Máñez

Abstract

We present herein the use of nanoporous anodic alumina (NAA) as a suitable support to implement "molecular gates" for sensing applications. In our design, a NAA support is loaded with a fluorescent reporter (rhodamine B) and functionalized with a short single-stranded DNA. Then pores are blocked by the subsequent hybridisation of a specific cocaine aptamer. The response of the gated material was studied in aqueous solution. In a typical experiment, the support was immersed in hybridisation buffer solution in the absence or presence of cocaine. At certain times, the release of rhodamine B from pore voids was measured by fluorescence spectroscopy. The capped NAA support showed poor cargo delivery, but presence of cocaine in the solution selectively induced rhodamine B release. By this simple procedure a limit of detection as low as 5 x 10(-7) M was calculated for cocaine. The gated NAA was successfully applied to detect cocaine in saliva samples and the possible re-use of the nanostructures was assessed. Based on these results, we believe that NAA could be a suitable support to prepare optical gated probes with a synergic combination of the favourable features of selected gated sensing systems and NAA.

Keywords

• BIORESPONSIVE CONTROLLED-RELEASE; MESOPOROUS SILICA NANOPARTICLES; RESPONSIVE DRUG-DELIVERY; APTAMER-BASED SENSOR; ORAL FLUID; DNA; SYSTEMS; PLATFORM; SPECIFICITY; APTASENSOR