Chlorophyll-Based Self-Assembled Nanostructures for Fluorescent Sensing of Aminoglycoside Antibiotics

• Published in: ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering 2021-03, Vol.9 (9), p.3408-3415
• Main Authors: Zakharenkova, Sofia A, Dobrovolskii, Andrey A, Garshev, Alexey V, Statkus, Mikhail A, Beklemishev, Mikhail K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2168-0485; 2168-0485
• DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c08223

Methods of selective fluorescent sensing of small organic molecules require the use of biomolecules or complicated synthesis of artificial probes. An alternative technique is aggregation-based sensing based on the response generated due to self-assembly effects rather than by direct analyte–probe interaction. We have found that far red/near IR emission of spinach chlorophyll a at 680 nm is selectively enhanced by multiply charged aminoglycoside cations in the presence of anionic surfactants, whereas such an effect is not observed for smaller species. Selectivity of the detection is controlled by a positive charge of the drug and its ability to form multiple noncovalent bonds, as well as by the nature of the surfactant (n-dodecyl sulfate or lauroyl sarcosinate is preferable). Fluorescence of chlorophyll is enhanced due to its solubilization in the drug–surfactant aggregate. We have developed a simple and selective method for the detection of aminoglycoside antibiotic neomycin in urine samples with a limit of detection of 6 μM. The development path for aggregation-based analysis of other systems using chlorophyll is outlined.