An optical sensing platform for the detection of an important mycotoxin, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), in the absence of a bioactive environment is explored. In this work, a fluorescence-based sensing technique was designed by combining graphene quantum dots (GQDs) and AFB1 via fluorescence quenching, where AFB1 acts as the quencher of GQD fluorescence. GQDs were synthesized through a single-step hydrothermal reaction from the leaves of “curry tree” (Murraya Koenigii) at 200 °C. The fluorescent GQDs were quenched by AFB1 (quencher), which itself is detecting the analyte. Hence, this study reports the direct sensing of the mycotoxin AFB1 without the involvement of inhibitors or biological entities. The possible mode of quenching is the nonradiative resonance energy transfer between the GQDs and the AFB1 molecules. This innovative sensor could detect AFB1 in the range from 5 to 800 ng mL–1 with a detection limit of 0.158 ng mL–1. The interferent study was also carried out in the presence of different mycotoxins and carbohydrates (d-fructose, cellulose, and starch), which demonstrated the high selectivity and robustness of the sensor in the complex sample matrix. The recovery percentage of the spiked samples was also calculated to be up to 106.8%. Thus, this study reports the first GQD based optical sensor for AFB1.

Pesticides are used in agriculture for crop production enhancement by controlling pests, but they have acute toxicological effects on other life forms. Thus, it becomes imperative to detect their concentration in food products in a fast and accurate manner. In this study, ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO nps) have been used as optical sensors for the detection of pesticide Aldicarb via a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) route. ZnO nps were synthesized directly by calcining zinc acetate at 450, 500, and 550 °C for 2 h. ZnO nps were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV–vis absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies to study the phase, crystallinity, shape, morphology, absorbance, and fluorescence of the prepared ZnO nps. XRD and Raman studies confirmed the crystalline nature of ZnO nps. The average crystallite size obtained was 13–20 nm from the XRD study. The SEM study confirmed spherical-shaped ZnO nps with average sizes in the range of 70–150 nm. The maximum absorbance was obtained in the 200–500 nm regions with a prominent peak absorbance at 372 nm from UV–vis spectra. The corresponding band gap for ZnO nps was calculated using Tauc’s plots and was found to be 3.8, 3.67, and 3.45 eV for the 450, 500, and 550 °C calcined samples, respectively. The fluorescence spectra showed an increase in the intensity along with the increase in the size of ZnO nps. The ZnO nps (samples calcined at 500 and 550 °C) exhibited a response toward Aldicarb, owing to their pure phase and higher PL intensity. Both the samples showed systematic detection of Aldicarb in the range of 250 pM to 2 nM (500 °C) and 250 pM to 5 nM (550 °C). Among the various quenching mechanisms, PET was found to be the dominant process for the detection of Aldicarb. This method can be used for the detection of Aldicarb in real (food) samples using a portable fluorimeter.

Energy released from an accelerated high-energy single/cluster particle triggers solid-state polymerization and cross-linking reactions of porphyrin-based π-conjugated monomers within a nanometer-scaled one-dimensional spatial area along the ion trajectory, resulting in the formation of an insoluble nanowire with a precise diameter and length. The nanowires are isolated by the development processimmersion of the irradiated film in organic solventsand their shape and geometry are clearly characterized by atomic force microscopy. The obtained nanowire bundles, reflecting precisely the number of incident particles, show characteristic absorption spectra originating from porphyrin chromophores without significant degradation of the molecular cores. These porphyrin-based nanowires can be further functionalized into metallocomplexes by immersing the nanowires into solutions containing metal ion sources. The remarkable finding on the monomer structural parameters is that terminal alkyne groups are preferentially reacted and thus highly effective as a monomer structure for the present single particle-triggered linear polymerization method. The porphyrin-based nanowires show much higher photoconductivity than the precursor porphyrin films and enhanced fluorescence on silver nanoparticle layers via surface plasmon resonance. The porphyrin nanowires serve as photosensitizers mediating the generation of singlet oxygens, which is attractive for the use as a controlled nanosystem toward photocatalysis and photodynamic therapy.