Plasmonic Janus hybrids for the detection of small metabolites

Abstract

Advanced bio-analytical platforms rely on materials with tailored structural parameters. Herein, we assembled plasmonic Janus hybrids for laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI MS) detection of small metabolites. We applied Janus particles (periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) in conjunction with carbon spheres) as core materials and loaded silver nanoparticles as nanoshells. Janus core particles enhanced the LDI MS detection of both hyhrophobic and hydrophilic molecules due to anisotropic properties. Moreover, plasmonic nanoshells enabled direct metabolite detection with silver adduction in bio-mixtures, due to the selective LDI process. Furthermore, we demonstrated the tunable surface chemistry of Janus hybrids for the enrichment and identification of metabolites at low concentration (4 pM). Our work contributed to the development of tools for metabolic analysis and design of materials for bio-analytical platforms.