Upconversion nanoparticles incorporated with three-dimensional graphene composites for electrochemical sensing of baicalin from natural plants

• Published in: RSC advances 2024-11, Vol.14 (48), p.3684-3692
• Main Authors: Zhang, Na, Wu, Yilin, Liang, Tian, Su, Yongxiang, Xie, Xusheng, Zhang, Tianren, Wang, Hongyan, Zhang, Keying, Jiang, Rongli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chemical sensors; Chemistry; Chinese medicine; Electron microscopy; Graphene; Microscopy; Nanoparticles; Synergistic effect; Three dimensional composites; Traditional Chinese medicine; Upconversion
• ISSN: 2046-2069; 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/d4ra06540a

Chinese medicine has been widely studied owing to its many advantages. Baicalin (Bn), extracted from natural plants, has been shown to have significant anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop a suitable method to detect the content of Bn in traditional Chinese medicine. Herein, we report an electrochemical sensor for the sensitive detection of Bn in Scutellaria root samples through a synergistic effect between upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and three-dimensional macroporous graphene (3DG). The prepared UCNP-3DG composite was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD). This proposed sensor exhibited a low detection limit of 3.8 × 10 −8 M (S/N = 3). Importantly, the established method possesses good stability and selectivity and can successfully detect Bn in Scutellaria root samples. It provides a suitable strategy for the determination of Bn and has potential application prospects in the assay of traditional Chinese medicine. The fabrication of UCNP-3DG and its application in electrochemical detection of Bn in natural plant samples.