Optical Detection of Lithocholic Acid with Liquid Crystal Emulsions

    Authors

    T. Bera;J. Y. Fang

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Langmuir

    Keywords

    CANCER CELL-LINES; BILE-ACIDS; MASS-SPECTROMETRY; BIOLOGICAL-FLUIDS; INDUCED APOPTOSIS; DROPLETS; MONOLAYERS; TRANSITIONS; SENSORS; Chemistry, Multidisciplinary; Chemistry, Physical; Materials Science, ; Multidisciplinary

    Abstract

    The concentration level of bile acids is a clinical biomarker for the diagnosis of intestinal diseases because individuals suffering from intestinal diseases have a sharply increased concentration of bile acids at micromolar levels. Here, we report the detection of lithocholic acid (LCA) in aqueous solution by using surfactant-stabilized 4-n-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) liquid crystal droplets as an optical probe. We find that the surfactant adsorbed at the 5CB/water interface can be replaced by LCA, triggering a radial-to-bipolar configuration transition of the 5CB in the droplets. By simply observing the LCA-triggered transition with a polarizing optical microscope, micromolar levels of LCA in aqueous solution can be detected. The detection limit and selectivity of surfactant-stabilized 5CB droplets for LCA depend on the chain length and headgroup of the surfactants used for stabilizing 5CB droplets.

    Journal Title

    Langmuir

    Volume

    29

    Issue/Number

    1

    Publication Date

    1-1-2013

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    387

    Last Page

    392

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000313305900046

    ISSN

    0743-7463

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