Nitrogen-doped carbon dots: Recent developments in its fluorescent sensor applications.

Doped carbon dots have attracted great attention from researchers across disciplines because of their unique characteristics, such as their low toxicity, physiochemical stability, photostability, and outstanding biocompatibility. Nitrogen is one of the most commonly used elements for doping because of its sizeable atomic radius, strong electronegativity, abundance, and availability of electrons. This distinguishes them from other atoms and allows them to perform distinctive roles in various applications.

Genetically encoded light-up RNA aptamers and their applications for imaging and biosensing.

Intracellular small ligands and biomacromolecules are playing crucial roles not only as executors but also as regulators. It is essential to develop tools to investigate their dynamics to interrogate their functions and reflect the cellular status. Light-up RNA aptamers are RNA sequences that can bind with their cognate nonfluorescent fluorogens and greatly activate their fluorescence.

Nanomaterial-Enabled Wearable Sensors for Healthcare.

Highly sensitive wearable sensors that can be conformably attached to human skin or integrated with textiles to monitor the physiological parameters of human body or the surrounding environment have garnered tremendous interest. Owing to the large surface area and outstanding material properties, nanomaterials are promising building blocks for wearable sensors. Recent advances in the nanomaterial-enabled wearable sensors including temperature, electrophysiological, strain, tactile, electrochemical, and environmental sensors are presented in this review.

Selective electrochemical recognition of the α-naphthol isomer and in situ immobilization of naphthoquinones for tunable electrocatalysis.

Fits like a glove: Separationless and selective electrochemical oxidation of the α-naphthol (α-NAP) isomer yields naphthoquinone species on the surface of multiwalled carbon nanotubes, which can further catalyze the electro-oxidation of NADH and hydrazine at different potentials. The β-NAP isomer failed to show any such electro-oxidation.

Electrochemical-assisted encapsulation of catechol on a multiwalled carbon nanotube modified electrode.

Electrochemical-assisted encapsulation of a neurotransmitter, catechol (CA), as nanoaggregates on a multiwalled carbon nanotube (>90% of carbon basis MWNT) modified gold electrode (Au/CA@CNT) has been demonstrated without any derivatization or electrode preactivation procedures. Characterization of the CA@CNT by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection (FTIR/ATR) spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry (CV) collectively revealed stable encapsulation of the CA within strained and misalignment areas of the MWNT capsule. The Au/CA@CNT shows a couple of redox peaks centered at 0 (A1/C1) and 200 mV vs Ag/AgCl (A2/C2) due to the encapsulated (chemisorbed) and physisorbed CA moieties, respectively.