title: Polythiophene nanofilms for sensitive fluorescence detection of viruses in drinking water.
abstract: Molecular imprints of the tobacco necrosis virus (TNV) have been formed within polythiophene nanofilms with an approximate thickness of 200nm. These films have been electrochemically deposited onto conducting Au surfaces. Upon rebinding, the TNV-polythiophene complex changes the fluorescence intensity of the nanofilm. The fluorescence intensity at 410nm was observed to be proportional to the concentration of viruses in the range of 0.1-10ngL(-1) (0.15-15pg) with the lower calculated detection limit of 2.29ngL(-1) (3.4pg). The intensity of the fluorescence emission is not affected by the thickness of the polythiophene film and the nature of TNV specific binding sites. Kinetic data analyses showed that the nanofilm responds to TNV within 2min; and cross-selectivity studies with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) showed an excellent specificity for the targeted TNV. These binding experiments demonstrate the potential of fluorescence emission for the specific, label free and rapid detection of viruses using nanofilm sensors. Taking into account the lower limit of detection, the fluorescence sensing reported here is reliable, simple to perform, rapid, cost-effective and offers a sensitive analytical method for virus detection in water resources.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Impact and Risk Assessment Division, CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nehru Marg, Nagpur 440020, India.
authors.forename: Shashwati
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wankar
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK7 6AA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nicholas W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Environmental Impact and Risk Assessment Division, CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nehru Marg, Nagpur 440020, India. Electronic address: rj_krupadam@neeri.res.in.
authors.forename: Reddithota J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Krupadam
mesh_terms: D060766:Drinking Water / Q000821:virology*; D005453:Fluorescence; D057230:Limit of Detection; D054802:Molecular Imprinting; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D013876:Thiophenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000821:virology; D014027:Tobacco Mosaic Virus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019183:Tombusviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D011108:Polymers; D013876:Thiophenes; C066730:polythiophene
keywords: Electrochemical sensor; Fluorescence; Molecular imprinting; Tobacco necrosis Virus; Water sampling