Improving the Properties of Optical Anion Sensors using Transmembrane Transporters and Extracting Agents

在化学系化学测量和成像（CMI）项目的支持下，杜兰大学的Nathalie Busschaert博士正在研究一种提高光学阴离子传感器选择性和灵敏度的新方法。阴离子在生命中发挥着重要作用，从在聚阴离子DNA上存储遗传密码，到成为农业肥料的活性成分，以及作为工业过程中其他高价值化学品的前体。因此，化学家们一直在设计可以通过各种方法检测阴离子物种的系统。然而，传感器开发中的最大挑战之一是在与感兴趣的阴离子（灵敏度）相关的浓度范围内仅检测感兴趣的阴离子（选择性）。Busschaert博士将使用基于分子的离子转运体或提取剂与分子的组合，这些分子在阴离子暴露时会发生颜色变化，以产生高度选择性和灵敏的阴离子传感器。待发现的基本原理将对基于光的传感器的开发产生影响，以及通过膜运输来分离或富集阴离子。该项目预计将提供高选择性的阴离子传感器，其传感信号随着阴离子存在量的微小变化而变化很大。预计这些成果将为可能对阴离子传感器的众多应用产生更广泛影响的应用奠定基础，例如医疗诊断和环境领域的测量。预计这项工作将对妇女参与STEM产生更广泛的影响（科学，技术，工程，数学）领域，作为博士Busschaert将积极参与各种专业发展活动与女本科生和研究生在杜兰大学，以及与国家专业协会互动产生的结果。该项目的中心假设是，跨膜转运或液-液萃取可以提供“双选择性过滤器”，由此只有那些被输送/萃取并引起脂质体包封的发色团中的光学变化的分析物将被系统感测。这意味着转运蛋白和荧光团本身都不需要具有高度选择性，因此结构简单，因此价格低廉。此外，跨膜阴离子转运具有富集脂质体内所需阴离子浓度的潜力，导致包封的发色团的响应灵敏度增加。该假设将进行测试，通过执行一系列的紫外可见和荧光光谱测量，以确定一组精心挑选的运输和提取为基础的光学传感器对各种阴离子物种的选择性和灵敏度。该项目由化学部门的化学测量和成像项目和刺激竞争性研究的既定项目（EPSCoR）联合资助，并得到化学、生物工程、环境和运输系统（CBET）该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值进行评估而被认为值得支持和更广泛的影响审查标准。

With the support of the Chemical Measurement and Imaging (CMI) Program in the Division of Chemistry, Dr. Nathalie Busschaert of Tulane University is studying a novel way to improve the selectivity and sensitivity of optical anion sensors. Anions play an important role in life, from storing the genetic code on the polyanion DNA, to being the active ingredient in agricultural fertilizers and acting as a precursor to other chemicals of high value to industrial processes. Consequently, chemists have been designing systems that can sense anionic species through a variety of methods. However, one of the biggest challenges in sensor development is the detection of only the anion of interest (selectivity) in the concentration range that is relevant for the anion of interest (sensitivity). Dr. Busschaert will use a combination of molecule-based ion transporters or extracting agents with molecules whose color changes upon anion exposure to generate highly selective and sensitive anion sensors. The fundamental principles to be discovered are poised to have an impact on light-based sensor development, as well as isolation or enrichment of anions by their transportation through membranes. The project is anticipated to provide highly selective anion sensors whose sensing signal changes a great deal with tiny changes in the amount of anion present. The outcomes are anticipated to lay the groundwork for applications that can have a broader impact on the numerous applications of anion sensors, such as measurements in the medical diagnostics and environmental fields. This work is expected to have a further broader impact on the participation of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields, as Dr. Busschaert will be actively involved in a variety of professional development activities with female undergraduate and graduate students at Tulane University, as well as with those resulting from interactions with national professional societies.The central hypothesis of the project is that transmembrane transport or liquid-liquid extraction can provide a ‘double selectivity filter’, whereby only those analytes that are transported/extracted and cause an optical change in a liposome-encapsulated chromophore will be sensed by the system. This means that neither the transporter nor the fluorophore needs to be highly selective by themselves and are therefore structurally simple, and as a result, inexpensive. In addition, transmembrane anion transport has the potential to enrich the concentration of the desired anion inside the liposome, leading to an increase in the sensitivity of the response of the encapsulated chromophore. The hypothesis will be tested by performing a series of ultraviolet-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy measurements to determine the selectivity and sensitivity of a carefully selected group of transport- and extraction-based optical sensors against a variety of anionic species. This project is jointly funded by the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program in the Division of Chemistry and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), with partial support from the Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems (CBET) Division of the Engineering Directorate.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.