LAUSR

Conventional array sensors mostly require the preparation of multiple sensing units and thus prevent miniaturization. This problem can be particularly solved by designing a sensing unit that acquires multidimensional information. In this study, with Mn-doped ZnS (Mn-ZnS) quantum dot (QD) two-dimensional (2D) optical properties (phosphorescence or fluorescence) as signals and boronic-acid-substituted viologens (BBV) as sugar receptors, we developed a single-material two-signal 2D sensor, and used it to discriminate the concentrations and types of six sugars (D-fructose, D-glucose, D-galactose, D-mannose, L-sorbose and sucrose). Its principle of detection is that BBV, through photoinduced electron-transfer (PIET), quenches the phosphorescence and fluorescence of Mn-ZnS QDs. After the sugars were added into the quenching system, since the sugar–BBV binding ability was decided by the type or concentration of sugar, this led to differences in the phosphorescence and fluorescence signals. Such differences could be differentiated using linear discriminant analysis. Based on this principle, a single-material 2D sensor for the six types of sugars and different concentrations was built. Our method expands the application of single-material multi-dimensional sensors and simplifies the preparation of conventional sugar array sensors.