Department of Chemistry 'Ugo Schiff', University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.
Laboratory of Clinical Pathology, University Hospital of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
Sensors (Basel). 2023 Mar 10;23(6):3030. doi: 10.3390/s23063030.
We took advantage of the fluorescent features of a serotonin-derived fluorophore to develop a simple and low-cost assay for copper in urine. The quenching-based fluorescence assay linearly responds within the concentration range of clinical interest in buffer and in artificial urine, showing very good reproducibility (CV% = 4% and 3%) and low detection limits (16 ± 1 μg L and 23 ± 1 μg L). The Cu content was also estimated in human urine samples, showing excellent analytical performances (CV% = 1%), with a limit of detection of 59 ± 3 μg L and a limit of quantification of 97 ± 11 μg L, which are below the reference value for a pathological Cu concentration. The assay was successfully validated through mass spectrometry measurements. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of copper ion detection exploiting the fluorescence quenching of a biopolymer, offering a potential diagnostic tool for copper-dependent diseases.
我们利用一种源自血清素的荧光团的荧光特性，开发了一种简单且低成本的尿液铜检测方法。基于荧光猝灭的荧光分析方法在缓冲液和人工尿液中的临床相关浓度范围内呈线性响应，具有非常好的重现性（CV%=4%和3%）和低检测限（16±1μg L 和 23±1μg L）。该方法还用于测定人尿液样本中的铜含量，表现出优异的分析性能（CV%=1%），检测限为 59±3μg L，定量限为 97±11μg L，均低于病理性铜浓度的参考值。该方法通过质谱测量得到了成功验证。据我们所知，这是首例利用生物聚合物的荧光猝灭来检测铜离子的例子，为铜依赖性疾病提供了一种潜在的诊断工具。
