Glutathione-capped copper sulfide (Cu_xS_y) nanoparticles with two different average sizes were successfully achieved by using a simple reduction process that involves only changing the reaction temperature. Temperature-induced changes in the size of Cu_xS_y nanoparticles resulted in particles with different optical, morphological, and electrochemical properties. The dependence of electrochemical sensing properties on the sizes of Cu_xS_y nanoparticles was studied by using voltammetric and amperometric techniques. The spherical Cu_xS_y nanoparticles with the average particle size of 25 ± 0.6 nm were found to be highly conductive as compared to Cu_xS_y nanoparticles with the average particle size of 4.5 ± 0.2 nm. The spherical Cu_xS_y nanoparticles exhibited a low bandgap energy (E_g) of 1.87 eV, resulting in superior electrochemical properties and improved electron transfer during glucose detection. The sensor showed a very good electrocatalytic activity toward glucose molecules in the presence of interference species such as uric acid (UA), ascorbic acid (AA), fructose, sodium chloride, and sucrose. These species are often present in low concentrations in the blood. The sensor demonstrated an excellent dynamic linear range between 0.2 to 16 mM, detection limit of 0.2 mM, and sensitivity of 0.013 mA/mM. The applicability of the developed sensor for real field determination of glucose was demonstrated by use of spiked blood samples, which confirmed that the developed sensor had great potential for real analysis of blood glucose levels.

Noble transition metal chalcogenide gold selenide is a relatively unexplored layered material. Herein, we report on the synthesis and characterization of polymorphic mixed-valence AuSe (Au¹⁺Au³⁺Se₂) by varying the sequence of the addition of the precursors in a colloidal synthesis. Despite the variations, all produced materials showed the co-existence of α- and β-AuSe. Although both polymorphs were observed, XRD showed that the addition of the gold precursor at higher temperatures resulted in α-AuSe being the dominant phase while the addition at lower temperatures resulted in β-AuSe being preferred. The crystal structures of both α- and β-AuSe consist of repeating units of a linearly bonded Au¹⁺ ion to two Se atoms and a Au³⁺ ion bonded to four Se atoms in a square planar geometry. The Au4f core level spectrum of XPS showed only the Au⁺¹ oxidation state, however, using the Se3d core level spectrum, the formation of AuSe (Au¹⁺Au³⁺Se₂) was evident. Using DFT calculations, the Raman spectra of α- and β-AuSe were simulated and only the square planar geometry was found to be Raman active. The square planar geometry (Au³⁺Se₄)⁻ ions belonging to the D_4h point group produced three Raman active vibrational modes, namely, a symmetric stretch (A_1g), a planar bend (B_1g) and an asymmetric stretch (B_2g) for α-AuSe as well as A_1g and B_1g for β-AuSe. Experimentally, all samples showed Raman vibrational lines from both phases. Moreover, Raman spectroscopy confirmed the presence of Au³⁺ in AuSe which was not detected using XPS. From the TEM and SEM results, it was evident that the morphologies of the predominantly α-AuSe samples were nanobelts while the predominantly β-AuSe samples showed plate-like structures. The predominantly α-AuSe samples showed a broad absorption band with a maximum at 853 nm while the predominantly β-AuSe samples showed evidence of absorption however with no defined excitonic peak.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic disease that is caused by the Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV); Bunyaviridae: Phlebovirus. RVF disease can affect several different species, including ruminants, camels and humans and thus present a dual threat to public health and livestock food production in endemic regions. In livestock, the RVFV infection is characterised by an acute hepatitis, abortion and high mortality rates in new-born animals. The current RVF diagnostic techniques have shown good sensitivity. However, they require extensive sample processing and complex instrumentation. Owing to speed, low cost, ease of use, and most importantly, the ability to diagnose diseases at sites where they are managed, lateral flow immunoassays (LFIA) are the most widely used point-of-care (POC) tools for disease diagnosis. In this study, a lateral flow assay (LFA) device that is able to detect antibodies against RVFV, with a minimum detectable concentration of 0.125 mg/mL, was successfully developed. The LFA also successfully detected RVFV antibodies in reference RVFV sera. Protein A (ProA), which has the ability to bind immunoglobulins from different species, was used in the detection probe, giving the developed RVFV LFA potential for multi-species diagnosis.

A primary amine, salicylaldehyde and copper salt were combined to prepare the bis(Nbenzyl-salicydenaminato)copper (II) complex. The copper (II) complex was then used as a precursor to synthesize mixed phase morphological copper oxide nanoparticles via thermal decomposition method using trioctylphosphine oxide as a capping molecule at different temperatures of 120, 180, and 240 ºC. The XRD patterns of copper oxide nanoparticles synthesized at lower temperatures exhibit a mixture of monoclinic structure of CuO whereas the nanoparticles synthesized at higher temperature reveals the peaks that are attributed to mainly face-centered-cubic metallic Cu. The TEM images showed spherical particles that were increasing in sizes when the temperature was raised.