A Paper-Based Analytical Device Integrated with Smartphone: Fluorescent and Colorimetric Dual-Mode Detection of β-Glucosidase Activity

In this work, indoxyl-glucoside was used as the substrate to develop a cost-effective, paper-based analytical device for the fluorescent and colorimetric dual-mode detection of beta-glucosidase activity through a smartphone. The beta-glucosidase can hydrolyze the colorless substrate indoxyl-glucoside to release indoxyl, which will be self-oxidized to generate green products in the presence of oxygen. Meanwhile, the green products emit bright blue-green fluorescence under ultraviolet-visible light irradiation at 365 nm. Fluorescent or colorimetric images were obtained by a smartphone, and the red-green-blue channels were analyzed by the Adobe Photoshop to quantify the beta-glucosidase activity. Under the optimum conditions, the relative fluorescent and colorimetric signals have a good linear relationship with the activity of beta-glucosidase, in the range of 0.01-1.00 U/mL and 0.25-5.00 U/mL, and the limits of detection are 0.005 U/mL and 0.0668 U/mL, respectively. The activities of beta-glucosidase in a crude almond sample measured by the fluorescent and colorimetric methods were 23.62 +/- 0.53 U/mL and 23.86 +/- 0.25 U/mL, respectively. In addition, the spiked recoveries of normal human serum and crude almond samples were between 87.5% and 118.0%. In short, the paper-based device, combined with a smartphone, can provide a simple, environmentally friendly, and low-cost method for the fluorescent and colorimetric dual-mode detection of beta-glucosidase activity.

Automated summary

In this study, a paper-based analytical device combined with a smartphone was developed for the dual-mode fluorescent and colorimetric detection of beta-glucosidase activity. The device utilizes the hydrolysis of a substrate to generate fluorescent and colorimetric signals, which are then captured and analyzed using a smartphone. This method offers a simple, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective approach for beta-glucosidase activity detection.