Work

A Galactose-Functionalized Pyrrolopyrrole Aza-BODIPY for Highly Efficient Detection of Eight Aliphatic and Aromatic Biogenic Amines: Monitoring Food Freshness and Bioimaging

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The detection of aliphatic and aromatic biogenic amines (BAs) is important in food spoilage, environmental monitoring, and disease diagnosis and treatment. Existing fluorescent probes predominantly detect aliphatic BAs with single signal variation and low sensitivity, impairing the adaptability of discriminative sensing platforms. Herein, we present a visual chemosensor (galactose-functionalized pyrrolopyrrole aza-BODIPY, PPAB-Gal) that simultaneously detects eight aliphatic and aromatic BAs in a real-time and intuitive way based on their unique electronic and structural features. Our findings reveal that the dual colorimetric and ratiometric emission changes are rapidly produced in presence of eight BAs through a noncovalent interaction (π–π stacking and hydrogen bond)-assisted chromophore reaction. Specifically, other lone-pair electrons containing compounds, such as secondary amines, tertiary amines, NH3, and thiol, fail to exhibit these changes. As a result, superior sensing performances with distinctly dual signals (Δλab = 130 nm, Δλem = 150 nm), a low LOD (~25 nM), and fast response time (<2 min) were obtained. Based on these advantages, a qualitative and smartphone-assisted sensing platform with a PPAB-Gal-loaded TLC plate is developed for visual detection of putrescine and cadaverine vapor. More importantly, we construct a connection between a standard quantitative index for the TVBN value and fluorescence signals to quantitatively determine the freshness of tuna and shrimp, and the method is facile and convenient for real-time and on-site detection in practical application. Furthermore, since the overexpressed spermine is an important biomarker of cancer diagnosis and treatment, PPAB-Gal NPs can be used to ratiometrically image spermine in living cells. This work provides a promising sensing method for BAs with a novel fluorescent material in food safety fields and biomedical assays.

Source: Biosensors

DOI: 10.3390/bios15080542

Authors: Yujing Gan, Bingli Lu, Jintian Zhong, Xueguagn Ran, Derong Cao, Lingyun Wang

Institutions: South China University of Technology, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

Language: English

Topic: Molecular Sensors and Ion Detection

Subfield: Spectroscopy

Field: Chemistry

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,654

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province