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A novel ratiometric fluorescence probe for the detection of copper (II) and silver(I) based on assembling dye-doped silica core–shell nanoparticles with gold nanoclusters

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Abstract

A creatively designed and constructed a multifunctional ratiometric fluorescence probe is reported by assembling glutathione (GSH)-protected gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) with fluorescein-doped mesoporous silica nanoparticle (FS) for the detection of Cu2+ and Ag+ ions, which could eliminate most interferences by self-calibration. Under the excitation at 450 nm, the fluorescence connected with AuNCs can rapidly respond by quenching or enhancement, respectively, for Cu2+ and Ag+ ions, while the fluorescein isothiocyante (FITC) fluorescence served as reference with negligible change. The fluorescence intensity ratio showed good linear relationships with Cu2+ and Ag+ concentrations in the range 0.5–10 μM and 0.1–8 μM, respectively. The detection limits were as low as 140 nM and 60 nM for Cu2+ and Ag+ ions, respectively. The color change induced by fluorescent intensity ratio variation could also be employed for visual discrimination. The AuNC-embedded FS (FS-Au) nanoprobe was successfully used for Cu2+ and Ag+ ion determination in drinking water and intracellular Cu2+ imaging, which exhibits promising prospects in cost-effective and rapid determination of both Cu2+ and Ag+ with good sensitivity and selectivity.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22078338).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, People’s Republic of China

    Wen**g Jiang

  2. CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bei**g, 100190, People’s Republic of China

    Shuang Wei & Ruirui Zhang

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  1. Wen**g Jiang
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  2. Shuang Wei
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Correspondence to Ruirui Zhang.

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Jiang, W., Wei, S. & Zhang, R. A novel ratiometric fluorescence probe for the detection of copper (II) and silver(I) based on assembling dye-doped silica core–shell nanoparticles with gold nanoclusters. Microchim Acta 190, 105 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-023-05677-3

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