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A Dipeptide-derived Dansyl Fluorescent Probe for the Detection of Cu2+ in Aqueous Solutions

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Abstract

A novel dansyl-based fluorescent probe (DG) was designed via the introduction of a dipeptide, glycyl-L-glutamine. DG showed good selectivity and sensitivity towards Cu2+ in aqueous solutions in the pH span of ~ 6–12. The coordination of Cu2+ with the dipeptide moiety led to the fluorescent quenching of the dansyl fluorophore. The association constant value for Cu2+ was 0.78 × 104 M− 1 in a 1 to 1 stoichiometric ratio. The detection limit in HEPES buffer solution (10 mM, pH 7.4) was 1.52 µM. DG also showed strong anti-interference capability in the presence of other metal ions. It was worth noting that DG maintained the detection ability towards Cu2+ in real water samples and cell imaging, implying the potential application opportunities in complicated environments.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22008002), the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education (KM2021100110010), and Beijing Technology and Business University (2023 Graduate research ability improvement program) for their financial support.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22008002), the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education (KM2021100110010), and Beijing Technology and Business University (2023 Graduate research ability improvement program).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Light Industry, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, 100048, China

    Jian Song, Yu Liu, Ce Wang, Baocai Xu & Li Zhao

  2. China Food Flavor and Nutrition Health Innovation Center, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, 100048, China

    Li Zhao

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  1. Jian Song
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  2. Yu Liu
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  3. Ce Wang
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Contributions

Jian Song and Yu Liu performed the material preparation, data collection and analysis. Ce Wang offered the funding for this project. Baocai Xu offered some helpful suggestions about the manuscript. Li Zhao wrote the first draft of the manuscript and supervised the whole project. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Li Zhao.

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Song, J., Liu, Y., Wang, C. et al. A Dipeptide-derived Dansyl Fluorescent Probe for the Detection of Cu2+ in Aqueous Solutions. J Fluoresc 33, 2515–2521 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-023-03274-4

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