Methods for detecting plasticizers
View Patent ↗Nanoparticles having one or more attached sensing moieties including uridine 5′-triphosphate (UTP) and deoxythymidine 5′-triphosphate (dTTP), are disclosed herein. These nanoparticles can, for example, be used for detection of plasticizers, such as phthalates, in the sample. Methods, kits and apparatuses using these nanoparticles for detecting plasticizers in a sample are also disclosed herein.
1. A method for detecting a phthalate in a sample, the method comprising:
providing a sample suspected of containing a phthalate;
providing a plurality of nanoparticles having one or more attached sensing moieties, wherein the sensing moiety comprises one or more uridine 5′-triphosphate (UTP) groups, uridine 5′-diphosphate (UDP) groups, uridine monophosphate (UMP) groups, 2′-deoxythymidine 5′-triphosphate (dTTP) groups, 2′-deoxythymidine 5′-diphosphate (dTDP) groups, or deoxythymidine 5′-monophosphate (dTMP) groups;
contacting the sample with the plurality of nanoparticles in the presence of a crosslinker to form a mixture, wherein the crosslinker is a copper (II) salt;
maintaining the mixture under conditions to allow the crosslinker to bind the nanoparticles and any plasticizer present in the sample to form a nanoparticle aggregate; and
detecting the nanoparticle aggregate, wherein the presence of the nanoparticle aggregate is indicative of the presence of a phthalate in the sample.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticles are metallic.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticles are gold nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles, platinum nanoparticles, aluminum nanoparticles, palladium nanoparticles, copper nanoparticles, cobalt nanoparticles, indium nanoparticles, nickel nanoparticles, or combinations thereof.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticles are gold nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, graphene oxides, or combinations thereof.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticles have an average diameter of about 12 nm to about 18 nm.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticles are present in the mixture at a concentration of about 1 nM to about 20 nM.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensing moiety comprises one or more UTP groups or dTTP groups.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crosslinker is CuCl 2 , Cu(NO 3 ) 2 , CuSO 4 , or combinations thereof.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crosslinker is present in the mixture at a concentration of about 0.2 μM to about 0.8 μM.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the phthalate is di(2-ethyl-hexyl)phthalate (DEHP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), di(n-octyl) phthalate (DNOP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP), or combinations thereof.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the maintaining step is carried out for no more than 5 minutes.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the maintaining step is carried out at a temperature of 10° C. to 40° C.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein formation of the nanoparticle aggregate results in a colorimetric change.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the colorimetric change is correlated with the concentration of the phthalate in the sample.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting step comprises determining absorption ratio A 610 /A 520 of the mixture.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting step is carried out by an optical sensor.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting step is carried out by visual observation of a user.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the phthalate is present in the sample at a concentration of 0.05 ppM to 10000 ppM.
19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sample is a food product or a medicine product.
20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the phthalate is di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), di(n-octyl) phthalate (DNOP), diisooctyl phthalate (DIOP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diallyl phthalate (DAP), di-n-propyl phthalate (DPP), butyl cyclohexyl phthalate (BCP), di-n-pentyl phthalate (DNPP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCP), di-n-hexyl phthalate (DNHP), diisohexyl phthalate (DIHxP), diisoheptyl phthalate (DIHpP), butyl decyl phthalate (BDP), n-Octyl n-decyl phthalate (ODP), di(2-Propyl Heptyl) phthalate (DPHP), diundecyl phthalate (DUP), diisoundecyl phthalate (DIUP), diisoundecyl phthalate (DTDP), diisotridecyl phthalate (DIUP), or a combination thereof.