Chinese researchers constructed a portable smartphone sensing platform based on fluorescent paper strip to achieve real-time, visual and quantitative analysis.

This work was done by JIANG Changlong and his team with Institute of Solid State Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science.

Scientists have been trying to realize fast, convenient, real-time, reliable and on-site detection of targets for which the ratiometric fluorescence-based paper sensor has been in the spotlight due to its advantages in terms of portability, fast response, excellent sensitivity and visual analysis. However, the method of analysis depends much on additional hand-held UV light and even fails in dark environment which limits it to semi-quantitative detection and then narrows its practical use especially for resource-constrained fields.

To tackle the problem, researchers constructed a portable smartphone sensing platform based on the 3D-printed mini device, ratiometric fluorescent paper strip as well as smartphone and realized real-time, visual and quantitative detection of analytes.

In the study, the pesticide residues of thiram and glutathione were regarded as research objects, and the smartphone sensing platform achieved real-time and reliable sensing.

The platform can avoid the use of hand-held UV lamp and also could work in dark environment through integrating optical components, comparing with the only paper sensor.

Furthermore, the team introduced a Color Recognizer Application which is a smartphone APP, as well as the linear relationship between RGB values of fluorescent paper strips and concentration of analytes to realize the real-time and more reliable in site detection.

The smartphone sensing platform may provide an efficient sensing strategy for food and medicine supervision, environment monitoring and human health diagnostics.

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21876175, 21671052, 21605144, 21806168) and Key Research and Development Program of Anhui Province (1804a07020103, 201904d07020001).

Link to the paper: A Portable Smartphone Platform Using a Ratiometric Fluorescent Paper Strip for Visual Quantitative Sensing

Portable Smartphone Platform Integrated with a Nanoprobe-Based Fluorescent Paper Strip: Visual Monitoring of Glutathione in Human Serum for Health Prognosis

The supplementary Cover Art and schematic diagram of the smartphone sensing platform based on ratiometric fluorescent paper strip for monitoring glutathione levels in human serum for health prognosis. (Image by CHU Suyun)

Schematic diagram of the visual detection of pesticide residues of thiram by a portable smartphone sensing platform. (Image by CHU Suyun)

Contact:

ZHOU Shu

Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (http://english.hf.cas.cn/)

Email: zhous@hfcas.ac.cn