BSA nanoclusters-based sensor for detection of dopamine in schizophrenia from biofluids

Abstract

Objective

To develop nontoxic and stable fluorescent emission B-Cu nanoclusters (NCs) for the specific detection of dopamine at low concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Significance

Fluorescent gold and copper NCs conjugated with proteins, such as bovine serum albumin (BSA), offer photostability and healthcare potential. This study focused on fabricating B-Cu NCs that exhibited superior characteristics for sensitive dopamine detection.

Methods

The study employed various instrumental techniques including attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), spectrofluorometry, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to characterize the formulated B-Cu NCs. The NCs were synthesized, resulting in particle size ∼300 nm. The highest observed fluorescence was recorded at 24542.81 relative fluorescence units (RFU).

Results

The introduction of dopamine at concentrations of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 ng/mL led to decreased fluorescence in both B-Au and B-Cu NCs due to an electron transport system. This reduction in fluorescence allowed dopamine concentration analysis in phosphate buffer and biological fluids such as blood plasma and CSF. B-Cu NCs showed potential as a biosensing system for point-of-care (POC) applications, specifically for diagnosing schizophrenia.

Conclusion

The study successfully synthesized stable and nontoxic B-Cu NCs with enhanced fluorescent emission properties. These NCs exhibited the capacity to detect dopamine at low concentrations in CSF. The study’s findings hold promise for future applications, particularly in the development of a B-Cu NCs-based biosensing system for convenient POC detection of schizophrenia by both patients and clinicians. The potential impact of this technology on healthcare and biomedical fields is substantial.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Schizophrenia
• fluorescence
• gold nanoclusters
• dopamine
• copper nanoclusters
• albumin

Author contributions

Bhakti Khanolkar: methodology, visualization, and writing (original draft). Pravin Shende: conceptualization, review and editing, supervision.

Ethical approval

The experiment study protocol was approved by Institutional Animal Ethical Committee. The in vivo was performed as per the ARRIVE guidelines in accordance with the U.K. Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986, and associated guidelines.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Not applicable.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.