Single-molecule sensing of aliphatic monohydrogen-substituted polycarboxylic acid positional isomers

CHENG Mengyuan; TANG Wen; ZHAO Xian; YANG Zekai; LI Hongshuang; TIAN Siyu; LUO Dan; XIE Xueying; LI Pufeng; QIU Kaipei

doi:10.13205/j.hjgc.202506015

Volume 43 Issue 6

Jun. 2025

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Article Navigation > ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING > 2025 > 43(6): 147-153

CHENG Mengyuan, TANG Wen, ZHAO Xian, YANG Zekai, LI Hongshuang, TIAN Siyu, LUO Dan, XIE Xueying, LI Pufeng, QIU Kaipei. Single-molecule sensing of aliphatic monohydrogen-substituted polycarboxylic acid positional isomers[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2025, 43(6): 147-153. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202506015

Citation:

CHENG Mengyuan, TANG Wen, ZHAO Xian, YANG Zekai, LI Hongshuang, TIAN Siyu, LUO Dan, XIE Xueying, LI Pufeng, QIU Kaipei. Single-molecule sensing of aliphatic monohydrogen-substituted polycarboxylic acid positional isomers[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2025, 43(6): 147-153. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202506015

Citation:

CHENG Mengyuan, TANG Wen, ZHAO Xian, YANG Zekai, LI Hongshuang, TIAN Siyu, LUO Dan, XIE Xueying, LI Pufeng, QIU Kaipei. Single-molecule sensing of aliphatic monohydrogen-substituted polycarboxylic acid positional isomers[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2025, 43(6): 147-153. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202506015

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Single-molecule sensing of aliphatic monohydrogen-substituted polycarboxylic acid positional isomers

doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202506015

1. State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Processes, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China;
2. State Key Laboratory of Coal Liquification, Gasification and Utilization with High Efficiency and Low Carbon Technology, Shanghai 200237, China;
3. Shanghai Environmental Protection Key Laboratory for Environmental Standard and Risk Management of Chemical Pollutants, Shanghai 200237, China;
4. Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China

Received Date: 2024-06-04
Accepted Date: 2024-08-06
Rev Recd Date: 2024-07-10

Abstract

Abstract

Per- and polyfluorinated carboxylic acids （PFCAs） and their isomers have emerged as critical environmental concerns in recent years due to their structural diversity， extreme persistence， and substantial environmental risks. These compounds， characterized by strong carbon-fluorine bonds， are ubiquitously detected in water systems， soil， and even biological tissues， posing significant risks to ecosystems and human health. Current analytical techniques， such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry （LC-MS）， heavily depend on standardized reference materials for isomer identification. However， the lack of commercially available isomer-specific standards severely limits their capacity to achieve precise differentiation and quantification of PFCA isomers， particularly in complex environmental matrices. To address this challenge， single-molecule sensing （SMS）， which rely on the linear correlation of analyte volume and blockade current， offer a promising approach for PFCA detection without requiring standard samples. However， the capability of SMS to resolve PFCA isomers still requires further validation. Taking aliphatic monohydrogen-substituted PFCA positional isomers as an example， this study developed a novel single-molecule algorithm incorporating frequency modulation and multi-dimensional feature extraction. This approach enable 100% accurate recognition of the above PFCA isomers using a wild-type Aerolysin nanopore. The method leverages the unique electrical signatures generated by the interaction of the isomers with the nanopore， which are then analyzed using sophisticated signal processing techniques to differentiate between the isomers with high precision.
- polycarboxylic acid positional isomers,
- aliphatic hydrogen substitution,
- single-molecule sensing,
- multi-feature parameters,
- frequency modulation

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References(30)

References

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