Microwave assisted synthesis of tyrosine protected gold nanoparticles for dual (colorimetric and fluorimetric) detection of spermine and spermidine in biological samples

In this work, tyrosine-protected gold nanoparticles (Tyr-Au NPs) were fabricated by one-step reduction of Au3+ ion using Tyr as a reducing and capping agent under microwave irradiation. The Tyr-Au NPs were successfully used as a dual probe for colorimetric and fluorescence turn-on assays of spermine and spermidine in biological samples. Upon addition of spermine and spermidine, the characteristic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band of Tyr-Au NPs was red-shifted to 596 and 616 nm and the emission peak (Tyr) at 410 nm was gradually increased with increasing concentration of both analytes, confirming the aggregation of Tyr-Au NPs induced by spermine and spermidine, which results to restore fluorescence of Tyr on the surfaces of Au NPs. In addition, it shows high selectivity for sensitive detection of prostatic cancer biomarkers spermine and spermidine in real clinical applications with reduced sample preparations.