Ultrasonication-assisted synthesis of fluorescent borophene quantum dots for sensing of dehydroepiandrosterone biomarker

A novel fluorescence approach is introduced for sensing of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). The primary characteristic of pediatric adrenocortical carcinoma disease causes due to the excessive production of DHEA, a hormone whose levels in the bloodstream can potentially facilitate the early diagnosis of cancer. In this paper, a water-dispersed borophene quantum dots (BQDs) based sensor was developed for the detection of DHEA, marking the first instance of such an application. The as-synthesized BQDs display blue fluorescence under 365 nm of UV light and exhibit λEx/Em at 370/428 nm with a good quantum yield of 24.12%. The as-prepared BQDs acted as a fluorescent “turn-on” sensor for the detection of DHEA with a dynamic range from 0.1 to 125 μM with the detection limit of 18.72 nM. The BQDs-based paper strip was designed for visual detection of DHEA. In addition, BQDs were utilized as imaging probes to visualize Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. The developed method was extended for DHEA assay in biofluids (plasma and urine).