US 12,436,077 B2
Luminescent sensor for nano/microplastics
Damiano Genovese, Bologna (IT); Luca Prodi, Bologna (IT); Enrico Rampazzo, Bologna (IT); and Nelsi Zaccheroni, Bologna (IT)
Assigned to ALMA MATER STUDIORUM—UNIVERSITA' DI BOLOGNA, Bologna (IT)
Appl. No. 17/794,580
Filed by ALMA MATER STUDIORUM—UNIVERSITA' DI BOLOGNA, Bologna (IT)
PCT Filed Jan. 19, 2021, PCT No. PCT/EP2021/051008
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jul. 21, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/148376, PCT Pub. Date Jul. 29, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 102020000001333 (IT), filed on Jan. 23, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0122419 A1, Apr. 20, 2023
Int. Cl. G01N 15/06 (2024.01); G01N 31/22 (2006.01); G01N 33/20 (2019.01); G01N 15/075 (2024.01)
CPC G01N 15/06 (2013.01) [G01N 31/22 (2013.01); G01N 33/20 (2013.01); G01N 15/075 (2024.01)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for detecting nano- and micro-plastics in an aqueous sample suspected of being polluted with nano- or micro-plastics, the method comprising:
contacting the aqueous sample suspected of being polluted with nano- or micro-plastics with an aqueous solution of hyaluronic acid functionalized with a luminescent dye as a sensing probe, thereby obtaining a test sample;
illuminating the test sample with a light source configured to excite the luminescent dye;
measuring a luminescence parameter obtained from the test sample upon illumination, wherein the luminescence parameter is selected from luminescence intensity and luminescence lifetime; and
comparing the luminescence parameter obtained from the test sample with a same luminescence parameter obtained from a background sample by either a wide field microscopy method or a confocal microscopy method, wherein the background sample comprises the aqueous sample suspected of being polluted with nano- or micro-plastics in an absence of the sensing probe, wherein an increase in luminescence intensity or a variation in the luminescence lifetime of the test sample as compared to the background sample indicates a presence of the nano- or micro-plastics in the aqueous sample.