Poly(adenine) DNA-Templated Gold Nanocluster-Based Fluorescent Strategy for the Determination of Thiol-Containing Pharmaceuticals

Abstract

The fluorescence intensity of poly(adenine) DNA-templated gold nanoclusters was shown to be significantly quenched by N-acetylcysteine through the formation of the Au-S metal-ligand bonds. On the basis of the fluorescence quenching phenomenon, a sensitive, turn-off, and label-free fluorescence method has been designed for the determination of thiol-containing pharmaceuticals using poly(adenine) DNA-templated gold nanoclusters as fluorescent probes. The assay exhibited sensitive determination of N-acetylcysteine with a linear dynamic range from 10 nM to 10 μM and a limit of detection of 3 nM. Furthermore, the proposed strategy was successfully applied for the determination of N-acetylcysteine levels in acetylcysteine granule samples. Thus, the method could provide a sensitive, simple, and rapid fluorescent sensing platform for the determination of thiol-containing pharmaceuticals.

Keywords:

• Fluorescent sensing
• N-acetylcysteine detection
• poly(adenine) DNA-templated gold nanoclusters
• thiol-containing drugs

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant Nos. U1704153, 21305119], Plan for Young Excellent Teachers in Universities of Henan Province [grant No. 2017GGJS100], Plan for Scientific Innovation Talent of Henan Province [grant No. 2017JR0016], and Nanhu Scholars Program for Young Scholars of XYNU.