ChemosensorsPub Date : 2026-08-19DOI: 10.3390/chemosensors14080187
Song Xueya, Jing Yang, Shunrun Zhang, Dongyun Zheng
{"title":"Molecularly Imprinted Electrochemical Sensor for the Detection of Homocysteine","authors":"Song Xueya, Jing Yang, Shunrun Zhang, Dongyun Zheng","doi":"10.3390/chemosensors14080187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors14080187","url":null,"abstract":"Molecularly imprinted polymers combined with carbon nanomaterials have proven effective in constructing electrochemical sensors with high selectivity, sensitivity, and robustness. Herein, a polypyrrole-based molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor was developed on a multi-walled carbon nanotube-modified glassy carbon electrode for homocysteine detection in human serum. The sensor was fabricated via drop-coating of sodium dodecyl sulfate-dispersed multi-walled carbon nanotubes, followed by in situ electropolymerization of pyrrole using homocysteine as the template. The morphology, interfacial properties, and electrochemical behavior of the electrode were systematically characterized by scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical techniques. Under optimized conditions, the sensor showed a linear response to homocysteine in the range of 1.0 × 10−10 mol/L to 1.0 × 10−5 mol/L, with a detection limit of 7.12 × 10−11 mol/L (S/N = 3). The sensor also exhibited good selectivity against common interferents, as well as acceptable reproducibility and stability. Recovery tests in human serum yielded recoveries of 91.00~110.50% (average: 100.73%), demonstrating its potential for practical homocysteine analysis in complex biological matrices.","PeriodicalId":10057,"journal":{"name":"Chemosensors","volume":"14 8","pages":"187-187"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148861317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Construction and Application Study of a Non-Enzymatic Dopamine Sensor Based on Zinc Porphyrin–Chitosan-Functionalized Reduced Graphene Oxide","authors":"Xiangyu Ren, Rundong Wang, Yu Zhang, Mengjin Zhai, Yukun Qin, Wenhao Liao, Anjie Cao, Yuehua Chen, Bingkai Han","doi":"10.3390/chemosensors14060127","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors14060127","url":null,"abstract":"Metalloporphyrins play an important role in biomedicine, catalysis, and energy, among other fields, due to their structural complexity and functional diversity. In this study, GO was used as the precursor support and chitosan was employed to reduce and functionalize GO into chitosan-functionalized rGO. Furthermore, metalloporphyrins were covalently linked to the amino side chains of chitosan via an amide crosslinking method, and a series of metalloporphyrin–chitosan-functionalized rGO nanocomposites were designed and synthesized. A set of poly(metalloporphyrin–chitosan)-functionalized rGO working electrodes was constructed by drop-coating onto glassy carbon electrodes, and their electrocatalytic performance toward dopamine was investigated in PBS solution. Finally, zinc(II) porphyrin, with the best performance, was selected as the core catalytic unit to fabricate an enzyme-free dopamine sensor. Under optimal working conditions, the sensor exhibited a sensitivity of 0.30 mA mM−1cm−2, a linear detection range of 0.001~1.0 mM, and a low detection limit of 0.05 μM (S/N = 3). The sensor showed anti-interference ability against various interfering ions and electroactive substances, as well as good stability and repeatability.","PeriodicalId":10057,"journal":{"name":"Chemosensors","volume":"14 6","pages":"127-127"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148305578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Electrochemical Sensor Based on CTAB–Nafion-Modified Nano-Graphite Carbon Paste Electrode and Its Application in the Determination of Aflatoxin B1 in Food","authors":"Juan Ma, Hui Li, Siyu Huang, Xiaojing Hu, Tingjuan Xia, Dongyun Zheng","doi":"10.3390/chemosensors14040077","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors14040077","url":null,"abstract":"In the present study, an amperometric aflatoxin B1 sensor was constructed via modifying a nano-graphite carbon paste microelectrode with a cationic surfactant of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and a perfluorosulfonic acid resin of Nafion through a simple and controllable electrochemical scanning method. The experiment results show that CTAB–Nafion composite film has a good catalytic effect on the electrochemical response of aflatoxin B1. The electrocatalytic mechanism was investigated with the aid of different analytical techniques, including square wave voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, chronocoulometry, energy-dispersive spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Under the optimal conditions, the linear range of the sensor is from 0.1 nM to 100 nM, and its detection limit and sensitivity are 20 pM (S/N = 3) and (24.9 ± 1.51) μA/nM, respectively. The accurate and rapid detection of aflatoxin B1, which has strong carcinogenicity, is of great significance for food quality monitoring and the protection of human health. Therefore, finally, the sensor was used to detect the concentration of aflatoxin B1 in milk and soy sauce samples, and the favorable recovery results indicated its good application prospects.","PeriodicalId":10057,"journal":{"name":"Chemosensors","volume":"14 4","pages":"77-77"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9040/14/4/77/pdf?version=1774344821","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147878844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemosensorsPub Date : 2026-02-20DOI: 10.3390/chemosensors14020051
Nana Ma, Xueling Dong, Ruinan Li, Chuang Du, Yuxuan Wang, Jiaxin Bai, Run Ran, X Liu, Dianshuo Zhang, Haikui Zou
{"title":"Coptisine Chloride: A Natural Isoquinoline Alkaloid as a Dual-Responsive Aggregation-Induced Emission Sensor for Heparin and Protamine","authors":"Nana Ma, Xueling Dong, Ruinan Li, Chuang Du, Yuxuan Wang, Jiaxin Bai, Run Ran, X Liu, Dianshuo Zhang, Haikui Zou","doi":"10.3390/chemosensors14020051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors14020051","url":null,"abstract":"Heparin (Hep) and its clinical antidote protamine (PRO) play essential yet antagonistic roles in anticoagulant therapy, necessitating reliable analytical tools to monitor their levels and interactions. Herein, we report that coptisine chloride (COP), a natural isoquinoline alkaloid, acts as an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) sensor enabling dual-responsive fluorescence modulation toward Hep and PRO. Owing to its rigid polycyclic and intrinsically twisted molecular framework, COP displays typical AIE behavior. In a DMSO/PBS mixture (PBS fraction = 99%, v/v), COP forms strongly emissive aggregates with Hep through electrostatically driven complexation, allowing sensitive Hep detection with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.70 μg/mL. Subsequent competitive binding of PRO to Hep disrupts the COP–Hep aggregates, giving rise to fluorescence quenching and reversible PRO sensing (LOD: 0.49 μg/mL). Theoretical calculations together with multiple characterization techniques reveal an aggregation–disaggregation mechanism governing the dual fluorescence modulation. Moreover, COP achieves accurate Hep quantification in spiked diluted human serum, affording satisfactory linearity and recoveries (LOD = 0.71 μg/mL; recoveries 98.3–101.6%). These results demonstrate that COP, a structurally simple natural AIE luminogen, serves as a sustainable, biocompatible, and accessible tool for reversible Hep and PRO analysis in complex media.","PeriodicalId":10057,"journal":{"name":"Chemosensors","volume":"14 2","pages":"51-51"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9040/14/2/51/pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147382022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Glucose Sensor Using Fe3O4 Functionalized MXene Nanosheets as a Promising Sensing Platform: Exploring the Potential of Electrochemical Detection of Glucose","authors":"Yu Yang, Danning Li, Changchang Zheng, Ling Zhang, Xuwei Chen","doi":"10.3390/chemosensors14010019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors14010019","url":null,"abstract":"Enzymatic electrochemical sensors are promising for real-time glucose monitoring due to their high sensitivity and continuous detection capability. In this work, a magnetic Fe3O4@MXene nanocomposite was synthesized hydrothermally. The introduction of Fe3O4 not only reduced MXene’s inherent negative surface charge, improving interaction with glucose oxidase (GOD), but also formed a porous structure that enhances enzyme immobilization via physical adsorption. Based on these properties, a Fe3O4@MXene/GOD/Nafion/GCE electrode was fabricated. The composite’s high specific surface area, excellent conductivity, and good biocompatibility significantly promoted the direct electron transfer (DET) of GOD. Meanwhile, the apparent electron transfer rate constant (ks) was calculated to be 9.57 s−1, representing a 1.26-fold enhancement over the MXene-based electrode (7.57 s−1) and confirming faster electron transfer kinetics. The sensor showed a bilinear glucose response in the ranges of 0.05–15 mM, with sensitivity of 120.47 μA·mM−1·cm−2 and a detection limit of 38 μM. It also exhibited excellent selectivity, reproducibility and stability. Satisfactory recovery rates were achieved in artificial serum samples while demonstrating comparable detection performance to commercial blood glucose meters.","PeriodicalId":10057,"journal":{"name":"Chemosensors","volume":"14 1","pages":"19-19"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9040/14/1/19/pdf?version=1767844301","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147905628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemosensorsPub Date : 2025-12-16DOI: 10.3390/chemosensors13120434
Wenchen Li, Weiying Lu
{"title":"Rapid Smartphone Colorimetric Determination of Starch and Ultraviolet Spectrophotometry Quantification of Lignin in Chinese Chrysanthemum Teas","authors":"Wenchen Li, Weiying Lu","doi":"10.3390/chemosensors13120434","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors13120434","url":null,"abstract":"Chrysanthemum, a traditional medicinal and edible plant, possesses diverse health-promoting properties attributed to its rich profile of bioactive compounds. However, the intrinsic quality, influenced by the composition of fundamental components like starch and lignin, varies significantly across different cultivars and origins. This study establishes a comprehensive phytochemical profile of 12 representative Chinese chrysanthemum cultivars by systematically quantifying their starch and lignin contents. Furthermore, it develops and validates a novel, low-cost rapid detection method for starch utilizing smartphone-based colorimetry. The starch content, determined by a colorimetric anthrone-sulfuric acid assay, ranged from 2.68 to 18.69 g/100 g, while the lignin content, measured via the acetyl bromide digestion followed by UV spectrophotometry at 280 nm, varied from 4.21 to 13.63 g/100 g, revealing substantial inter-cultivar differences. For starch analysis, a low-cost, immediate, general-purpose, and high-throughput (LIGHt) smartphone-based colorimetry was implemented. Standard curves constructed from both absorbance and the LIGHt assay demonstrated excellent linearity (R2 > 0.99). The method’s performance was evaluated under different lighting conditions and across various smartphone models. The UV spectrophotometry condenses lignin quantification to a single 30-min digestion–reading cycle, bypassing the two-day Klason protocol and increases efficiency greatly. The work successfully provides a foundational component analysis and validates a portable, high-throughput framework for on-site quality control of plant-based products, demonstrating the strong potential of smartphone-based colorimetry for rapid starch detection and a complementary laboratory-scale lignin assay.","PeriodicalId":10057,"journal":{"name":"Chemosensors","volume":"13 12","pages":"434-434"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9040/13/12/434/pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147333879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemosensorsPub Date : 2025-12-11DOI: 10.3390/chemosensors13120430
Yalei Dong, Wei Song, Jing Hu, Cuiling Ren
{"title":"A Facile Solid-Phase Synthesis of Scandium-Modified Carbon Dots for Fluorescent Sensing of Cu2+","authors":"Yalei Dong, Wei Song, Jing Hu, Cuiling Ren","doi":"10.3390/chemosensors13120430","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors13120430","url":null,"abstract":"Scandium-modified carbon dots (Sc-oCDs) were synthesized in this work through a solid-phase approach. The prepared Sc-oCDs exhibited excitation-independent emission properties, as well as photostability against pH, ionic strength, and UV irradiation. Their fluorescence quantum yields significantly exceeded those of unmodified counterparts, confirming effective Sc modification. The Sc-oCDs also possessed upconversion fluorescence at 542 nm with 980 nm excitation. Additionally, the as-prepared Sc-oCDs functioned as an effective fluorescent sensor for Cu2+, demonstrating selective fluorescence quenching. A linear correlation was observed between the quenching efficiency and Cu2+ concentration from 1 to 600 μM, achieving a detection limit of 0.167 μM. Operating via dynamic quenching, this sensing system achieved highly selective and rapid (<1 min) detection of Cu2+, enabling sensitive Cu2+ monitoring in aqueous samples.","PeriodicalId":10057,"journal":{"name":"Chemosensors","volume":"13 12","pages":"430-430"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9040/13/12/430/pdf?version=1765449691","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147911024","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemosensorsPub Date : 2025-12-06DOI: 10.3390/chemosensors13120424
Xiaochen Liu, Lin Lü, Luca Laghi, Gianfranco Picone, Chenglin Zhu
{"title":"Impact of Ultrasonic-Assisted, Glutathione-Enriched Inactive Dry Yeast Addition on the Flavor, Metabolites and Antioxidant Properties of Kiwi Wine","authors":"Xiaochen Liu, Lin Lü, Luca Laghi, Gianfranco Picone, Chenglin Zhu","doi":"10.3390/chemosensors13120424","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors13120424","url":null,"abstract":"Ultrasonic-assisted maceration and supplementation with glutathione-enriched inactive dry yeast (g-IDY) represent promising strategies to optimize the quality of fermented fruit wines. This study systematically investigated the synergistic effects of combined ultrasonic treatment and g-IDY addition on the metabolomics, flavoromics, and antioxidant properties of kiwifruit wine (KW), using integrated 1H-NMR, GC-MS, gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS), and radical scavenging assays. 1H-NMR analyses revealed that both individual and combined treatments significantly altered the KW metabolome, influencing the levels of amino acids, organic acids, and carbohydrates. GC-MS and GC-IMS analyses characterized numerous volatile compounds, demonstrating that the combined treatments (USL + GSH, USM + GSH, USH + GSH) particularly enhanced the concentrations of desirable fruity esters (e.g., ethyl isobutyrate) and reduced off-flavor compounds (e.g., hexanoic acid), exhibiting a clear synergistic effect beyond individual applications. Furthermore, the combined treatment significantly enhanced the antioxidant capacity of KW, as evidenced by the significantly higher scavenging activities against DPPH, hydroxyl, and superoxide anion radicals, compared to individual applications. Overall, this study sheds light on applying the synergistic treatment of ultrasonics and g-IDY as a novel technique to comprehensively enhance the flavor and functional quality of KW.","PeriodicalId":10057,"journal":{"name":"Chemosensors","volume":"13 12","pages":"424-424"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9040/13/12/424/pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147878632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemosensorsPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-12-04DOI: 10.3390/chemosensors13120418
Scott Renkes, Steven J Gray, Minjun Kim, George Alexandrakis
{"title":"Plasmonic Nanopore Sensing to Probe the DNA Loading Status of Adeno-Associated Viruses.","authors":"Scott Renkes, Steven J Gray, Minjun Kim, George Alexandrakis","doi":"10.3390/chemosensors13120418","DOIUrl":"10.3390/chemosensors13120418","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are a leading vector for gene therapy, yet their clinical utility is limited by the lack of robust quality control methods to distinguish between empty (AAV<sub>empty</sub>), partially loaded (AAV<sub>partial</sub>), and fully DNA loaded (AAV<sub>full</sub>) capsids. Current analytical techniques provide partial insights but remain limited in sensitivity, throughput, or resolution. Here we present a multimodal plasmonic nanopore sensor that integrates optical trapping with electrical resistive-pulse sensing to characterize AAV9 capsids at the single-particle level in tens of μL sample volumes and fM range concentrations. As a model system, we employed AAV9 capsids not loaded with DNA, capsids loaded with a self-complementary 4.7 kbp DNA (AAV<sub>scDNA</sub>), and ones loaded with single-stranded 4.7 kbp DNA (AAV<sub>ssDNA</sub>). Ground-truth validation was performed with analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC). Nanosensor data were acquired concurrently for optical step changes (occurring at AAV trapping and un-trapping) both in transmittance and reflectance geometries, and electrical nanopore resistive pulse signatures, making for a total of five data dimensions. The acquired data was then filtered and clustered by Gaussian mixture models (GMMs), accompanied by spectral clustering stability analysis, to successfully separate between AAV species based on their DNA load status (AAV<sub>empty</sub>, AAV<sub>partial</sub>, AAV<sub>full</sub>) and DNA load type (AAV<sub>scDNA</sub> versus AAV<sub>ssDNA</sub>). The motivation for quantifying the AAV<sub>empty</sub> and AAV<sub>partial</sub> population fractions is that they reduce treatment efficacy and increase immunogenicity. Likewise, the motivation to identify AAV<sub>scDNA</sub> population fractions is that these have much higher transfection rates. Importantly, the results showed that the nanosensor could differentiate between AAV<sub>scDNA</sub> and AAV<sub>ssDNA</sub> despite their identical masses. In contrast, AUC could not differentiate between AAV<sub>scDNA</sub> and AAV<sub>ssDNA</sub>. An equimolar mixture of AAV<sub>scDNA</sub>, AAV<sub>ssDNA</sub> and AAV<sub>empty</sub> was also measured with the sensor, and the results showed the expected population fractions, supporting the capacity of the method to differentiate AAV load status in heterogeneous solutions. In addition, less common optical and electrical signal signatures were identified in the acquired data, which were attributed to debris, rapid entry re-entry to the optical trap, or weak optical trap exits, representing critical artifacts to recognize for correct interpretation of the data. Together, these findings establish plasmonic nanopore sensing as a promising platform for quantifying AAV DNA loading status and genome type with the potential to extend ultra-sensitive single-particle characterization beyond the capabilities of existing methods.</p>","PeriodicalId":10057,"journal":{"name":"Chemosensors","volume":"13 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13132496/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147811317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ChemosensorsPub Date : 2025-11-20DOI: 10.3390/chemosensors13110403
Haixia Wang, Ning Xiao, Chen Zhou, Evgeny Kovtunets, Mingxin Luo, Chenyang Zou, Yining Wang, Jing Sun
{"title":"A Novel Pyrene-Based Fluorescent Probe for the Detection of Cu2+","authors":"Haixia Wang, Ning Xiao, Chen Zhou, Evgeny Kovtunets, Mingxin Luo, Chenyang Zou, Yining Wang, Jing Sun","doi":"10.3390/chemosensors13110403","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors13110403","url":null,"abstract":"A novel fluorescent probe (PYB) for selective and sensitive detection of Cu2+ ions was rationally designed and synthesized via a multi-step organic reaction using pyrene as the fluorophore and salicylaldehyde-diethylenetriamine Schiff base as the recognition moiety. The structural characterization of PYB was confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Photophysical properties investigation revealed that the probe exhibited strong fluorescence emission at 362 nm in DMF/HEPES-NaOH buffer solution (v:v = 1:1, pH 7.4), which underwent a significant fluorescence quenching response (quenching efficiency up to 77%) upon the addition of Cu2+, attributed to the formation of a 1:1 PYB-Cu2+ complex (binding constant K = 799.65 M−1). The probe showed excellent selectivity for Cu2+ over other common metal ions (Ba2+, Na+, Mg2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, Ca2+, Mn2+, Pb2+, Hg2+, Fe3+, Co2+), with a low detection limit of 8.35 × 10−7 M, which is well below the maximum allowable concentration of Cu2+ in drinking water specified by the World Health Organization (WHO). Furthermore, a portable fluorescent test strip based on PYB was successfully fabricated, enabling rapid and visual detection of Cu2+ under UV light. Fluorescence imaging experiments in living HepG2 cells demonstrated that PYB could penetrate cell membranes efficiently and realize the intracellular detection of exogenous Cu2+. These results collectively indicate that PYB holds great potential as a practical tool for Cu2+ detection in environmental monitoring, food safety, and biological systems.","PeriodicalId":10057,"journal":{"name":"Chemosensors","volume":"13 11","pages":"403-403"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9040/13/11/403/pdf?version=1763634212","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147887591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}