Turn-on fluorescence sensing of histidine in body fluids: unveiling its oncogenic potential as a cancer risk biomarker

Abstract

Histidine plays a crucial role in biological processes and is linked to cancer pathophysiology, making it a promising biomarker indicative of cancer risk. In this study, we developed a fluorescence turn-on probe using bovine serum albumin stabilized copper nanoclusters (CuNCs) quenched with Cu2+ for the selective detection of histidine. Cu2+ primarily quenches the fluorescence of CuNCs via the inner filter effect (IFE). Histidine restores fluorescence by chelating Cu2+, thereby reducing its quenching interaction with the nanoclusters and modulating the surface environment. Histidine also suppresses non-radiative decay via coordination, disrupting Cu2+ induced aggregation. The probe demonstrates sensitivity with a limit of detection (LOD) of 3.61 μM and specificity against various biomolecules. Real sample analyses of saliva using the probe confirmed excellent recovery rates, validating its potential for non-invasive cancer biomarker detection. Additionally, a preliminary paper strip assay confirmed the feasibility of point of care histidine sensing. This work shows the diagnostic and screening potential of CuNCs/Cu2+ probes for use at home and resource-limited settings.

Graphical abstract: Turn-on fluorescence sensing of histidine in body fluids: unveiling its oncogenic potential as a cancer risk biomarker

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 Feb 2025
Accepted
12 Jun 2025
First published
17 Sep 2025

Analyst, 2025, Advance Article

Turn-on fluorescence sensing of histidine in body fluids: unveiling its oncogenic potential as a cancer risk biomarker

G. Indongo, M. K. Abraham, G. Rajeevan, A. B. Kala, D. M. Dhahir and S. George, Analyst, 2025, Advance Article , DOI: 10.1039/D5AN00221D

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