Use of laser-triggered gold nanoparticle-grafted dual light and temperature-responsive polymeric sensor for the recognition of thioguanine as anti-tumor agent

Objective(s): Today, there is an urgent need for improved sensor materials for drug sensing and effectivemonitoring and interventions in this area are highly required to struggle drug abuse. The present studyaimed to synthesize a thioguanine-responsive sensor based on a nanocomposite consisting of AuNP-graftedlight- and temperature-responsive poly butylmethacrylate-co-acrylamide-co-methacrylic acid ([P(BMA-coAAm-co-MAA)] with an On/Off switching property in the presence and absence of light radiation.Materials and Methods: The incorporation of AuNPs into the structure of a polymer as the sensing moietyallows the detection of thiol-containing drug based on established gold-sulfur chemistry. The preparednanocomposite sensor was characterized using transmission electron microscopy, scanning electronmicroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. In addition, the thermal sensitivity and thermaland optical switching properties of the nanocomposite were investigated. The sensor could be triggeredby laser radiation at the wavelengths matched with the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) frequency of theAuNPs, providing it with an On/Off switching property.Results: The sensor was observed to have high binding ability indicating its promising sensing applicationswith the wide linear responsive range of 20-250 µM and low limit of detection (0.1 µM) toward thioguanine.Conclusion: The prepared sensor could be used to detect the analyte in biological and pharmaceuticalsamples, while it is also efficient in the detection of thioguanine in actual samples.