Nanomaterial-based optical colorimetric sensors for rapid monitoring of inorganic arsenic species: a review.

Health concerns about the toxicity of arsenic compounds have therefore encouraged the development of new analytical tools for quick monitoring of arsenic in real samples with improved sensitivity, selectivity, and reliability. An overview of advanced optical colorimetric sensor techniques for real-time monitoring of inorganic arsenic species in the environment is given in this review paper. Herein, several advanced optical colorimetric sensor techniques for arsenite (As) and arsenate (As) based on doping chromogenic dyes/reagents, biomolecule-modified nanomaterials, and arsenic-binding ligand tethered nanomaterials are introduced and discussed.

Conditionally Activatable Photoredox Catalysis in Living Systems.

The transformational effect of photoredox catalytic chemistries has inspired new opportunities, enabling us to interrogate nature in ways that are not possible otherwise and to unveil new biotechnologies in therapy and diagnosis. However, the deployment of artificial photoredox catalysis in living systems remains challenging, mired by the off-target risk and safety concerns of photocatalyst toxicity. Here, we present an appealing approach, namely conditionally activatable photoredox catalysis (ConAPC), and as a proof of concept design the first ConAPC architecture () based upon classic self-immolative chemistry, in which the inherent photocatalytic properties can be temporarily caged while the species becomes active only at the tumor sites via sensing to specific biomarkers.

Development of a red-light emission hypoxia-sensitive two-photon fluorescent probe for in vivo nitroreductase imaging.

The overexpression of nitroreductase (NTR) in hypoxia has been recognized as a biomarker of highly aggressive disease, and the development of a hypoxia-sensitive two-photon (TP) bioimaging probe with both excitation and emission wavelengths in the red-light region provides favorable deep-tissue imaging with a low background fluorescence signal. Although quite a few TP hypoxia-sensitive fluorescent probes have been reported for NTR detection, their short emission wavelength (<550 nm) limits their application. Herein, we report a red light emissive TP hypoxia-sensitive turn-on probe (NRP) by employing Nile Red as a red-emitting fluorophore and p-nitrobenzene as an NTR recognition group with improved sensitivity.