ACS SensorsPub Date : 2025-05-29DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.5c00760
Zeki Duman, Nicole A. Emmons, Tod E. Kippin, Lior Sepunaru, João Hespanha, Kevin W. Plaxco
{"title":"Improving Real-Time In Vivo Molecular Monitoring: Multi-Gaussian with Laplacian Voltammogram Fitting Enhances the Precision of Electrochemical Aptamer-Based Sensors","authors":"Zeki Duman, Nicole A. Emmons, Tod E. Kippin, Lior Sepunaru, João Hespanha, Kevin W. Plaxco","doi":"10.1021/acssensors.5c00760","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.5c00760","url":null,"abstract":"Electrochemical, aptamer-based (EAB) sensors are the first technology supporting high-frequency, real-time measurements of the concentrations of specific drugs, metabolites, and biomarkers in the body that is independent of the chemical reactivity of its analytes. To achieve this, EAB sensors employ the binding-induced folding of an electrode-attached, redox-reporter-modified aptamer to produce an electrochemical output easily monitored using square wave voltammetry. Using such sensors, multiple research groups have achieved the seconds-resolved, multihour measurement of multiple drugs and metabolites in situ in the veins, brains, and peripheral solid tissues of live animals. Historically, the large volume of voltammograms (hundreds per hour) produced by in vivo EAB sensors have been fitted using simple polynomials to extract the peak heights from which target concentrations are estimated. This, however, can lead to misestimation of peak heights due to overfitting of noise or poor correction of peak shouldering. In response, here we describe an alternative method of fitting EAB sensor voltammograms that improves the accuracy of “problematic” (i.e., noisy, or heavily “shouldered”) data sets while simultaneously reducing sensor noise.","PeriodicalId":24,"journal":{"name":"ACS Sensors","volume":"148 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144165439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Aptamer-Driven Nanoparticles-Coupled Plasmonic Metasurface Biosensing Platform for Ultrasensitive and Quantitative Identification of Heavy Metal Cadmium Ions in Body Fluids","authors":"Lanlan Shen, Yuzhang Liang, Xinran Wei, Haonan Wei, Yuhang Huang, Fayin Ju, Yijin He, Jingyuan Zhao, Cheng Yang, Yurui Fang, Wei Peng","doi":"10.1021/acssensors.5c00673","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.5c00673","url":null,"abstract":"A cost-effective AuNPs-coupled PM platform for highly sensitive and selective cadmium ion (Cd<sup>2+</sup>) detection is developed, in which Cd<sup>2+</sup>-induced conformational switching of aptamers from single-stranded DNA to a stem-loop structure is utilized, preventing AuNPs from binding to the PM surface and reducing wavelength shift. Furthermore, the contribution of localized coupling effects between AuNPs and various positions on the PM surface to the change of the sensing signal is revealed, offering insights into AuNPs-enhanced PM sensing compared to traditional effective refractive index theory. Our proposed sensing platform enables the detection of Cd<sup>2+</sup> in ultrapure water over a broad concentration range from 10 pg/L to 10 mg/L with excellent linearity, achieving a detection limit of 3.72 pg/L, which is approximately 6 orders of magnitude lower than the clinically required concentration. Moreover, the sensing method demonstrates excellent recovery rates and resistance to interferences in complex Cd<sup>2+</sup>-spiked urine and serum samples. Due to the low-cost, scalability, and ease of fabrication of both AuNPs and PM chips, as well as the universal applicability of aptamers to target various analytes, this biosensing platform holds the potential for high-throughput detection of other heavy metal ions, environmental pollutants, and disease biomarkers.","PeriodicalId":24,"journal":{"name":"ACS Sensors","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144165438","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS SensorsPub Date : 2025-05-28DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.4c03201
Jinzhu Huang, Hanguang Wu, Zhiqiang Su
{"title":"Ultra-High Performance Fibrous Ammonia Sensor with Full Degradability","authors":"Jinzhu Huang, Hanguang Wu, Zhiqiang Su","doi":"10.1021/acssensors.4c03201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.4c03201","url":null,"abstract":"Although portable sensors with real-time NH<sub>3</sub> detection capability have been extensively investigated, the development and preparation of fibrous degradable NH<sub>3</sub> sensors combining properties including high lightweight and flexibility, high integrability, eco-friendliness, as well as excellent sensing performances still remains a great challenge. In this work, through fabricating a multicomponent aerogel fiber with three-dimensional mesoporous structure, we developed a fully degradable fibrous NH<sub>3</sub> sensor with super high sensing performances including high sensitivity (an ultrahigh response of 807% at 100 ppm of NH<sub>3</sub>), rapid response speed (the response and recovery time are 24.1 and 2.2 s respectively at 100 ppm of NH<sub>3</sub>), good selectivity, and ultralow trace levels of NH<sub>3</sub> monitoring capability (1 ppb). Taking advantage of its great sensing performance, we fabricated an NH<sub>3</sub> alert system by integrating the aerogel fiber with an alarm circuit for NH<sub>3</sub> leakage warning and food spoilage alerting.","PeriodicalId":24,"journal":{"name":"ACS Sensors","volume":"172 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144153895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS SensorsPub Date : 2025-05-28DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.5c00007
Huihui Chen, Yuhan He, Qijie Wang, Xinyao Yi, Jianxiu Wang
{"title":"Tunable and Stable Triplex DNA Structure for Surface Plasmon Resonance Detection of UV-Induced DNA Damage","authors":"Huihui Chen, Yuhan He, Qijie Wang, Xinyao Yi, Jianxiu Wang","doi":"10.1021/acssensors.5c00007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.5c00007","url":null,"abstract":"Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation can destroy hydrogen bonds, leading to DNA deformation or destruction. Triplex DNA is produced by combining Watson–Crick and Hoogsteen base pairing under certain conditions. The UV-induced damage of target DNA may influence the triplex DNA formation; thus, a simple and sensitive surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assay of the DNA damage process was proposed. The experimental conditions for forming the triplex DNA were explored, and the stability comparison between duplex and triplex DNA was performed. The triplex DNA possessed higher stability under acidic pH and sufficient Mg<sup>2+</sup>, and the sequence length could remarkably influence its stability. By derivatization of the triplex structure with two biotin tags, the incorporation of streptavidin resulted in amplified SPR signals. However, UV-induced damage of biotinylated target DNA attenuated the triplex DNA formation, and smaller SPR signals were attained. The SPR signals were inversely and linearly dependent on the UV irradiation doses that represented the photodamage levels in the range of 0.117–1.75 kJ/m<sup>2</sup>, and the detection limit was estimated to be 0.039 kJ/m<sup>2</sup>. Through the competitive assay, UV-induced damage of unbiotinylated target DNA can also be detected. The proposed method serves as a viable means for the detection of UV-induced DNA damage based on the triplex DNA structure.","PeriodicalId":24,"journal":{"name":"ACS Sensors","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144165441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS SensorsPub Date : 2025-05-28DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.5c00592
Yong Yang, Wei Huang, Xiaoling Lei, Yuan Ai, Can Sheng, Dongliang Zhang, Shizhao Wang, Fang Dong, Sheng Liu
{"title":"Wearable Wireless Patch with Unidirectional Microfluidic Chamber for Enzyme-Free Glucose Monitoring in Sweat","authors":"Yong Yang, Wei Huang, Xiaoling Lei, Yuan Ai, Can Sheng, Dongliang Zhang, Shizhao Wang, Fang Dong, Sheng Liu","doi":"10.1021/acssensors.5c00592","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.5c00592","url":null,"abstract":"Conventional glucose sensors based on biological enzymes are prone to interference in complex environments, particularly for wearable sweat monitoring. Although synthetic nanozymes exhibit higher stability, they often require highly alkaline conditions to achieve optimal performance, limiting their application in wearable devices. To address this challenge, this study presents a novel enzyme-free wearable wireless patch capable of real time, in situ monitoring of glucose concentrations in sweat. The device employs a microfluidic channel to collect sweat, where solid NaOH is dissolved to create the required alkaline environment. Subsequently, the sweat enters a detection chamber, where two-dimensional nickel-based organic framework nanoflowers modified with gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs/Ni-BDC NFs) serve as the sensing layer, enabling highly sensitive and stable glucose detection. Integrated temperature and pH sensors provide real time calibration to ensure measurement accuracy, while a Tesla valve prevents the backflow of alkaline solution to the skin. A custom-designed smartphone application facilitates real-time analysis of sweat glucose levels during physical activity, by managing signal acquisition, processing, and wireless communication. Through in situ pretreatment of sweat within the microfluidic channel and cooperative operation with a sensor array, this study effectively overcomes key challenges in enzyme-free glucose sensing for wearable devices. The proposed system demonstrates significant potential for future health monitoring, particularly for real-time tracking during exercise and daily activities.","PeriodicalId":24,"journal":{"name":"ACS Sensors","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144153896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS SensorsPub Date : 2025-05-28DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.5c00632
Dokyun Kim, Chang-Soo Han
{"title":"Self-Powered Strain Sensing via Ion Physisorption at PVC Ion Gel─Metal Interfaces","authors":"Dokyun Kim, Chang-Soo Han","doi":"10.1021/acssensors.5c00632","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.5c00632","url":null,"abstract":"Self-powered strain sensors are crucial for wearable technology and low-power applications, where continuous operation with minimal energy is essential. Conventional sensors typically require external power, leading to bulky designs, limited battery life, and frequent maintenance, which hinder seamless integration into wearable devices. This study introduces an ion physisorption-based self-powered strain sensor (IPSS) enabling stable, strain-induced voltage measurements without external power. The IPSS leverages the physical adsorption of [EMIM] cations in a PVC ion gel onto electrode surfaces, generating a measurable voltage difference under strain. Potential of zero charge measurements confirmed selective ion adsorption based on electrode work functions, validating the IPSS’s operating mechanism. Notably, the IPSS demonstrated a broad operational range of 0–200% strain with a linear response of 2.3 mV/% in the low-strain range (0–40%), highlighting its precision for wearable applications. Using the IPSS’s stable, self-powered signal, a CNN-based gesture recognition model achieved 92% accuracy with just 0.00507 GFLOPs, showing the sensor’s potential for low-power, high-accuracy applications in wearable and resource-limited environments.","PeriodicalId":24,"journal":{"name":"ACS Sensors","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144153897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS SensorsPub Date : 2025-05-28DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.5c01016
Xiaorui Shi, Chong Hu, Bin Guo, Chuanxian Zhang, Yaru Xue, Zeping Yang, Fu Wang
{"title":"Programmable Transcriptional–Translation Active Sensors for miRNA-Responsive Gene Imaging and Theranostics in Mammalians","authors":"Xiaorui Shi, Chong Hu, Bin Guo, Chuanxian Zhang, Yaru Xue, Zeping Yang, Fu Wang","doi":"10.1021/acssensors.5c01016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.5c01016","url":null,"abstract":"Synthetic gene circuits are logical circuits constructed by various biological elements based on engineering principles. However, the majority of current synthetic gene circuits are modulated through exogenous factors or endogenous inhibitory substances, which results in redundant structures and low efficiency, thereby greatly limiting their application scenarios. In this study, we developed a miCU sensor system comprising the Gal4-VP16 gene element, which enables real-time targeted monitoring of miR-9 and miR-124a during neural differentiation through transcriptional–translation two-step active regulation with a relatively low background signal. Additionally, the functional gene was replaced by P21 through the programmability of miCU, thereby achieving miRNA-mediated cell cycle arrest and suppression of cell migration in tumor cells. Furthermore, by strategically substituting the target miRNA with miR-155 and concurrently introducing the therapeutic gene Nrf2 into the miCU system, the integration of disease diagnosis and treatment in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute liver injury (ALI) mouse models has been successfully achieved. Our study presented a programmable miRNA-responsive gene regulation platform, which may offer a robust tool for precise diagnosis and treatment in disease settings.","PeriodicalId":24,"journal":{"name":"ACS Sensors","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144153898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Efficient ppt-Level H2S Gas Sensor Based on YSZ and α-Fe2O3 Nanofoam Sensing Electrode","authors":"Xidong Hao, Xiangli Meng, Tianling Yu, Zihao Wang, Yinglin Wang, Shanfu Sun, Pengfei Cheng, Yintang Yang, Qianyong Yang","doi":"10.1021/acssensors.5c00956","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.5c00956","url":null,"abstract":"Herein, porous α-Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> nanofoam was successfully synthesized and used as a sensing electrode to fabricate a yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) mixed-potential hydrogen sulfide (H<sub>2</sub>S) sensor for real-time monitoring of hazardous H<sub>2</sub>S gas. The sintering temperature was adjusted to modify the microstructure of the sensing electrode material and its electrochemical reaction intensity to H<sub>2</sub>S, enhancing the sensor’s performance. Among the tested materials, α-Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> nanofoam sintered at 800 °C exhibited the highest electrochemical catalytic activity toward H<sub>2</sub>S in electrochemical tests, suggesting its suitability as a sensing electrode material for YSZ-based H<sub>2</sub>S sensors. The sensor incorporating α-Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> nanofoam sintered at 800 °C achieved the highest response of −273 mV to 10 ppm of H<sub>2</sub>S at 625 °C. Moreover, this sensor exhibited a low detection limit of 100 ppt and, within the H<sub>2</sub>S concentration range of 0.5–10 ppm, a high sensitivity of −180.3 mV/decade, outperforming other reported YSZ-based H<sub>2</sub>S sensors. Furthermore, this fabricated sensor exhibited excellent repeatability, selectivity, and long-term stability, indicating its potential for industrial safety early warnings and precise environmental monitoring. This study provides a valuable reference for designing porous sensing electrode materials and enhancing the sensing performance of mixed-potential gas sensor.","PeriodicalId":24,"journal":{"name":"ACS Sensors","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144153899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS SensorsPub Date : 2025-05-27DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.5c00552
Shubham Kumar,Rashi Kedia,Arti Bisht,Amit Soni,Ruchi K Sharma,Sanjay Yadav,Asit Patra,Sanjay K Srivastava,Ashok Kumar
{"title":"Novel Flexible Organic Photoplethysmogram Sensor for Continuous Cardiovascular Monitoring.","authors":"Shubham Kumar,Rashi Kedia,Arti Bisht,Amit Soni,Ruchi K Sharma,Sanjay Yadav,Asit Patra,Sanjay K Srivastava,Ashok Kumar","doi":"10.1021/acssensors.5c00552","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.5c00552","url":null,"abstract":"A flexible organic photodetector (OPD) has been developed for a flexible organic photoplethysmography sensor (FOPS) designed to monitor vital cardiovascular parameters such as pulse rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and pulse rate variability. This device is fabricated on a flexible substrate, utilizing a blend of PCDTBT and PC71BM as the active layer. The FOPS demonstrates excellent absorption properties across the visible spectrum, which is essential for capturing high-quality arterial pulse signals, known as photoplethysmogram (PPG). Optoelectronic characterization revealed a high response time and an impressive on/off current ratio, enabling the accurate detection of microfeatures within the PPG signal. We successfully utilized the device to monitor PPG signals in both reflection and transmission modes, employing green (530 nm) and red (630 nm) light sources, respectively. The recorded PPG signals were further analyzed to measure cardiovascular parameters. The device also demonstrates the ability to measure blood pressure using two techniques: a cuff-based method in conjunction with the oscillometric waveform (OMW) and a cuff-less technique utilizing an artificial neural network approach. These results highlight the FOPS's potential for integration into wearable medical technology, offering continuous, real-time cardiovascular monitoring in a user-friendly and noninvasive manner.","PeriodicalId":24,"journal":{"name":"ACS Sensors","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144146212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Synergistic Self-Assembly Enabled Highly Ordered Mesoporous WSe2/WO3 Crystalline Heterostructures for Rapid NO2 Sensing at Room Temperature.","authors":"Zhenliang Li,Yuan Ren,Yujian Rao,Rui Ma,Ao Xu,Zejun Han,Tuo Zhang,Xueqiong Cui,Qiongfeng Shi,Li Tao","doi":"10.1021/acssensors.5c00955","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.5c00955","url":null,"abstract":"A rapid and highly sensitive detection of harmful gas molecules is crucial in artificial olfaction (electronic nose), which plays a significant role in areas such as environmental monitoring and healthcare. However, it remains a significant challenge to construct highly sensitive molecular sensors with fast response at room temperature due to the limitations in structures and properties (e.g., porosity, crystallinity, and carrier mobility) of the sensing materials. Herein, this study proposes a facile method to enable highly crystalline mesoporous WSe2/WO3 (m-WSe2/WO3) semiconductor heterostructures through controllable interfacial self-assembly of polyoxometalate (POM) clusters and amphiphilic block copolymers combined with a thermal-assisted conversion process. It allows uniform pore size, open channels, large specific surface area, highly crystalline framework, and abundant transition metal chalcogenide/metal oxide heterojunction interfaces. The m-WSe2/WO3-based chemiresistive semiconductor sensor achieves efficient detection of NO2 at room temperature, including ultrafast response (5 s), high selectivity (SNO2/Sgas > 5), high sensitivity (62.5%@50 ppm), low detection limit (50 ppb), and long-term stability (>30 days). Thanks to the synergistic improvement of sensing dynamics between mesostructure and heterojunction, such a few-second response time has been reduced by half of the reported values in most existing counterparts based on two-dimensional materials. Our work paves the way for the application of high-performance and cost-effective molecular sensors in artificial olfaction, electronic skins, and wearable integrated circuits at room temperature.","PeriodicalId":24,"journal":{"name":"ACS Sensors","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144146220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}