Department of Chemistry & MedChem Program of Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore, 117543 Singapore.
Sci Rep. 2013;3:2255. doi: 10.1038/srep02255.
Caffeine has attracted abundant attention due to its extensive existence in beverages and medicines. However, to detect it sensitively and conveniently remains a challenge, especially in resource-limited regions. Here we report a novel aqueous phase fluorescent caffeine sensor named Caffeine Orange which exhibits 250-fold fluorescence enhancement upon caffeine activation and high selectivity. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicate that π-stacking and hydrogen-bonding contribute to their interactions while dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy experiments demonstrate the change of Caffeine Orange ambient environment induces its fluorescence emission. To utilize this probe in real life, we developed a non-toxic caffeine detection kit and tested it for caffeine quantification in various beverages. Naked-eye sensing of various caffeine concentrations was possible based on color changes upon irradiation with a laser pointer. Lastly, we performed the whole system on a microfluidic device to make caffeine detection quick, sensitive and automated.
咖啡因广泛存在于饮料和药物中,因此受到了大量关注。然而,如何灵敏、便捷地检测咖啡因仍然是一个挑战,尤其是在资源有限的地区。在此,我们报道了一种新型的水相荧光咖啡因传感器,名为“Caffeine Orange”,它在咖啡因的激活下表现出 250 倍的荧光增强,具有高选择性。核磁共振波谱和傅里叶变换红外光谱表明,π-堆积和氢键有助于它们的相互作用,而动态光散射和透射电子显微镜实验表明,Caffeine Orange 环境的变化会引起其荧光发射。为了在实际生活中利用这种探针,我们开发了一种无毒的咖啡因检测试剂盒,并测试了它在各种饮料中的咖啡因定量检测。通过激光笔照射时的颜色变化,可以实现对各种咖啡因浓度的肉眼感应。最后,我们在微流控装置上实现了整个系统,使咖啡因检测快速、灵敏和自动化。