A simplified and cost-effective detection of cancer bio-markers using BODIPY and surfactant-templated fluorogenic self-assembly

Abstract

This study presents a novel approach for fluorescence-based spermine sensing, using a laboratory synthesized distyryl BODIPY dye in combination with a widely available and inexpensive anionic surfactant, SDS. The resulting BODIPY@SDS supramolecular assembly is weakly fluorescent in nature but in the presence of spermine the assembly offers a substantial enhancement in its fluorescence intensity, acting as a “Turn-on” fluorescence probe for spermine with an astonishingly low detection limit of 65.6 nM in buffer and 1.25 μM in a 20% human urine matrix. Furthermore, emission in the deep-red region of the electromagnetic spectrum provides added advantages due to low scattering, deep sample penetration, less photodamage of the biological samples and low interference from the autofluorescence of the biological matrix, offering a swift, user-friendly potential technique for real-world applications in fluorescence-based spermine sensing.