A bacterial cellulose-based LiSrVO(4):Eu(3+) nanosensor platform for smartphone sensing of levodopa and dopamine: point-of-care diagnosis of Parkinson's disease

Among the catecholamines, dopamine (DA) is essential in regulating multiple aspects of the central nervous system. The level of dopamine in the brain correlates with neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD). However, dopamine is unable to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Therefore, levodopa (LD) is used to restore normal dopamine levels in the brain by crossing the BBB. Thus, the control of LD and DA levels is critical for PD diagnosis. For this purpose, LiSr(0.0985)VO(4):0.015Eu(3+) (LSV:0.015Eu(3+)) nanoplates were synthesized by the microwave-assisted co-precipitation method, and have been employed as an optical sensor for the sensitive and selective detection of catecholamines. The synthesized LSV:0.015Eu(3+) nanoplates emitted red fluorescence with a high quantum yield (QY) of 48%. By increasing the LD and DA concentrations, the fluorescence intensity of LSV:0.015Eu(3+) nanoplates gradually decreased. Under optimal conditions, the linear dynamic ranges were 1–40 μM (R(2) = 0.9972) and 2–50 μM (R(2) = 0.9976), and the detection limits (LOD) were 279 nM, and 390 nM for LD and DA, respectively. Herein, an instrument-free, rapid quantification visual assay was developed using a paper-based analytical device (PAD) with LSV:0.015Eu(3+) fixed on the bacterial cellulose nanopaper (LEBN) to determine LD and DA concentrations with ease of operation and low cost. A smartphone was coupled with the PAD device to quantitatively analyze the fluorescence intensity changes of LSV:0.015Eu(3+) using the color recognizer application (APP). In addition, the LSV:0.015Eu(3+) nanosensor showed acceptable repeatability and was used to analyze real human urine, blood serum, and tap water samples with a recovery of 96–107%.