title: Growth-sensitive gold nanoshells precursor nanocomposites for the detection of L-DOPA and tyrosinase activity.
abstract: In the present work, we have developed a novel nanocomposite-based method for the detection of L-DOPA and tyrosinase (TR) activity. This was accomplished by growth-sensitive gold nanoshells (GNSs) precursor nanocomposites (SiO(2)/GNPs II) and the formation process of GNSs. L-DOPA can reduce AuCl(4)(-) to Au(0), depositing on the surface of SiO(2)/GNPs II and mediating the enlargement of gold nanoparticles (GNPs). Here, the preadsorbed GNPs on SiO(2)/GNPs II serve as nucleation sites for Au(0) deposition. As the concentration of L-DOPA increases, the surface coverage of resultant gold on silica cores increases accordingly until continuous GNSs are formed. In this growth procedure, the spectra changes in wavelength correlate well with the concentration of L-DOPA, which indicates that this nanocomposite is a good nanoprobe for detecting L-DOPA. Because TR can catalyze the hydroxylation of L-tyrosine to form L-DOPA, this approach can also be employed to analyze the activity of TR, which possesses vast clinical and food industrial importance.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, PR China.
authors.forename: Fanjuan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Haofu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Weiping
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qian
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D007980:Levodopa / Q000032:analysis*; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase / Q000032:analysis*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D007980:Levodopa; D006046:Gold; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase