Development of ultrasensitive and selective spectrochemical sensors for the determination of hormones in environmental samples and biological fluids

• Grant number: 17/24196-2
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): September 01, 2018
• Effective date (End): August 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal researcher: Maria Del Pilar Taboada Sotomayor
• Grantee: Javier Erick Lobatón Villa
• Home Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/50945-4 - INCT 2014: National Institute for Alternative Technologies of Detection, Toxicological Evaluation and Removal of Micropollutants and Radioactivies, AP.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 18/24202-5 - Development of a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy-based immunoassay sensor for the selective and sensitive determination of cortisol in biological fluids, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Cortisol and estradiol are steroid hormones that, in normal physiological concentrations, play key roles for controling the human body functions. Considering that cortisol is a potential biomarker of several diseases whereas estradiol is an endocrine disruptor and an emerging contaminant, their monitoring in biological fluids and environmental samples represent crucial tasks for human health care and ecosystems protection. In this research project, we propose the development of sensor platforms for the determination of cortisol and estradiol by combining an ultrasensitive technique (surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, SERS) and highly selective materials (molecularly imprinted polymers, MIPs). For this purpose, monodisperse gold and silver spherical nanoparticles will be synthesized, characterized and utilized as reproducible SERS substrates. Three different types of MIPs [conventional, magnetic and core(nanoparticle)@shell(polimer)] will be synthesized, characterized and compared in order to obtain efficient materials to extract and quantify the selected hormones in the presence of interferences. To improve the performance of conventional univariate methods, the SERS spectra will be analyzed in multivariate form via partial least squares regression. Finally, the analytical method will be validated by calculating the figures of merit (precision, accuracy, limits of detection and quantification, etc.) in the analysis of soil samples, drinking water, river water and certified reference materials of biological fluids. It is expected that the synergistic coupling MIP-SERS for the determination of hormones, not previously reported in the literature, can become a general analytical strategy for the human health care and environmental protection. Additionally, this project is whithin the scope of the goals set by the National Institute of Alternaive Technologies for the Detection, Toxicological Assessment and Removal of Micropollutants and Radioactives - INCT-DATREM, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Maria Valnice Boldrin, and recently validated under the processes CNPq (465571/2014-0) and FAPESP (2014/50945-4).

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

VILLA, JAVIER E. L.; KHAN, SABIR; NERES, LUCAS C. S.; SOTOMAYOR, MARIA D. P. T. Preparation of a magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer for non-invasive determination of cortisol. JOURNAL OF POLYMER RESEARCH, v. 28, n. 8 AUG 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

RUIZ-CORDOVA, GERSON A.; VILLA, JAVIER E. L.; KHAN, SABIR; PICASSO, GINO; SOTOMAYOR, MARIA DEL PILAR TABOADA. urface molecularly imprinted core-shell nanoparticles and reflectance spectroscopy for direct determination of tartrazine in soft drink. Analytica Chimica Acta, v. 1159, MAY 15 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.