An extremely sensitive fluorescent sensor based on a phenylboronic acid monolayer was developed for detecting saccharide molecules. The fluorescent sensor was prepared by assembling a monolayer of 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (4-MPBA) onto a gold-coated compact disk. The change in the fluorescence of the 4-MPBA monolayer was extremely obvious in basic methanolic buffer containing monosaccharides down to the picomolar level. The fluorescence spectra demonstrated that the 4-MPBA monolayer was sensitive to monosaccharides and disaccharides, and the affinity of the monolayer toward saccharides was in the order of glucose < fructose < mannose < galactose < maltose > lactose > sucrose. Additionally, the fluorescence intensity of 4-MPBA monolayer was restorable after cleaning with weak acid, indicating that the reported fluorescent sensor with the detection limit of glucose down to the picomolar level is reusable for sensing saccharides.

Date Published: 11 September 2013
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 8812, Biosensing and Nanomedicine VI, 881210 (11 September 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2023060

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8812:
Biosensing and Nanomedicine VI
Hooman Mohseni; Massoud H. Agahi; Manijeh Razeghi, Editor(s)