TY - JOUR A1 - Kimani, Martha Wamaitha A1 - Pérez-Padilla, Victor A1 - Valderrey, Virginia A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Red-Emitting Polymerizable Guanidinium Dyes as Fluorescent Probes in Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for Glyphosate Detection N2 - The development of methodologies to sense glyphosate has gained momentum due to its toxicological and ecotoxicological effects. In this work, a red-emitting and polymerizable guanidinium benzoxadiazole probe was developed for the fluorescence detection of glyphosate. The interaction of the fluorescent probe and the tetrabutylammonium salt of glyphosate was studied via UV/vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy in chloroform and acetonitrile. The selective recognition of glyphosate was achieved by preparing molecularly imprinted polymers, able to discriminate against other common herbicides such as 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid (dicamba), as thin layers on submicron silica particles. The limits of detection of 4.8 µM and 0.6 µM were obtained for the sensing of glyphosate in chloroform and acetonitrile, respectively. The reported system shows promise for future application in the sensing of glyphosate through further optimization of the dye and the implementation of a biphasic assay with water/organic solvent mixtures for sensing in aqueous environmental samples. KW - Glyphosate KW - Guanidinium receptors KW - Fluorescent probes KW - Molecularly imprinted polymers KW - Core-shell particles PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-544441 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors10030099 SN - 2227-9040 VL - 10 IS - 3 SP - 1 EP - 20 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-54444 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jamieson, O. D. A1 - Bell, Jérémy A1 - Hudson, A. A1 - Saczek, J. A1 - Perez-Padilla, Victor A1 - Kaiya, G. A1 - Novakovic, K. A1 - Davies, M. A1 - Foster, E. A1 - Gruber, J. A1 - Rurack, Knut A1 - Peeters, M. T1 - Design and Application of an Imprinted Polymer Sensor for the Dual Detection of Antibiotic Contaminants in Aqueous Samples and Food Matrices N2 - An innovative polymer-based dual detection microfluidic platform has been developed for the accurate and reliable sensing of trace amounts of antibiotic tetracycline in environmental and food samples. This was achieved through the production of a bespoke polymeric material formed via an imprinting technique using a fluorescent dye. Thus, this enables dual detection of tetracycline, both thermally, via analyzing the heat-transfer resistance at the solid−liquid interface, and optically, through the inner filter effect. The combination of these two methods achieved a nanomolar limit of detection for tetracycline while also providing rapid, selective, and cost-effective sensing. Additionally, this method successfully detected tetracycline levels of 0.56 μM in blank egg samples which was significantly lower than the maximum residual level of 400 μg L−1 (0.9 μM). Our work shows that this approach can be used for the efficient detection of trace antibiotics in complex environmental and food samples, offering enhanced reliability through the integration of two complementary analysis techniques. This sensor has the potential to identify sources of antimicrobial resistance, which is crucial for targeted efforts to combat this pressing global health challenge. KW - Molecularly imprinted polymers KW - Antibiotics monitoring KW - Orthogonal detection KW - Sensors PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-626497 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.4c03218 SN - 2637-6105 VL - 7 IS - 4 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington, D.C. AN - OPUS4-62649 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sun, Yijuan A1 - Pérez-Padilla, Víctor A1 - Valderrey, Virginia A1 - Bell, Jérémy A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Ratiometric detection of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids using dual fluorescent nanoparticles and a miniaturised microfluidic platform N2 - The widespread contamination of soil and water with perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has caused considerable societal and scientific concern. Legislative measures and an increased need for remediation require effective on-site analytical methods for PFAS management. Here we report on the development of a green-fluorescent guanidine-BODIPY indicator monomer incorporated into a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the selective detection of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Complexation of PFOA by the indicator, which is mediated by concerted protonation-induced ion pairing-assisted hydrogen bonding, significantly enhances fluorescence in polar organic solvents. The MIP forms as a thin layer on silica nanoparticles doped with tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chloride, which provides an orange emission signal as internal reference, resulting in low measurement uncertainties. Using a liquid-liquid extraction protocol, this assay enables the direct detection of PFOA in environmental water samples and achieves a detection limit of 0.11 µM. Integration into an opto-microfluidic system enables a compact and user-friendly system for detecting PFOA in less than 15 minutes. KW - PFAS KW - Molecular imprinting KW - Microfluidics KW - Fluorescence KW - Onsite assay PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-650270 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66872-9 SN - 2041-1723 VL - 16 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC AN - OPUS4-65027 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pérez-Padilla, Víctor A1 - Burnage, Samual C. A1 - Wittwer, Philipp A1 - Valderrey, Virginia A1 - Bell, Jérémy A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Detection of Perfluoroalkylic Acids From Water Using a Guanidine-Based Fluorescent Probe and Microfluidic Droplet Extraction N2 - Perfluoroalkylic acids (PFAAs), a subclass of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are stable, widely used industrial compounds posing environmental concerns due to their persistence and toxicity. Regulatory actions and remediation strategies necessitate effective onsite analytical methods for PFAS management. We developed an optical sensing system using a fluorescent probe with a benzoxadiazole core and guanidine receptor in a droplet-based microfluidic assay to detect PFAAs in water samples with low detection limits. The PFAAs binding enhances the probe's fluorescence in organic media through protonation-mediated hydrogen bond-assisted ion pairing, exploiting two complementary supramolecular forces. Direct detection employs a liquid-liquid extraction protocol in the microfluidic device, achieving detection limits for PFOA and PFOS down to ≥0.5 µm, with a dynamic range up to 200 µm for sample volumes <100 µL. HCl/KCl buffering facilitates analyte desalting and phase transfer for quantitation from surface water. Additionally, we developed a method involving a thin polymer layer of the probe and a crosslinker on submicron silica particles for direct detection of PFAAs in water. Our approaches provide sensitive, direct recognition and indication of PFAAs, advancing the field beyond indirect sensing and offering improved background suppression, rapid assay times, and a modular design for targeting other PFAS subclasses. KW - PFAS KW - Fluorescence KW - Microfluidics KW - Droplet Extraction PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-657330 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/adsr.70145 VL - 5 IS - 3 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-65733 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -