Abstract
The authors describe an upconversion nanoparticle-based (UCNP–based) fluorometric method for ultrasensitive and selective detection of Cu2+. The UCNPs show a strong emission band at 550 nm under near-infrared excitation at 980 nm. The principle of the strategy is that gold nanoparticles (AuNP) can quench the fluorescence of UCNP. In contrast, the addition of L-cysteine (Cys) can induce the aggregation of AuNP, resulting in a fluorescence recovery of the UCNPs. On addition of Cu2+, it oxidizes Cys to cystine and is reduced to Cu+. The Cu+ thusformed can be oxidized cyclically to Cu2+ by dissolved O2, which catalyzes and recycles the whole reaction. Thus, the aggregation of AuNP is inhibited and the fluorescence recovered by Cys is quenched. Under the optimal condition, the quenching efficiency shows a good linear response to the concentrations of Cu2+ in the 0.4–40 nM range. The limit of detection is 0.16 nM, which is 5 orders of magnitude lower than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limit for Cu2+ in drinking water (20 μM). The method has been further applied to monitor Cu2+ levels in real samples. The results of detection are well consistent with those obtained by atomic absorption spectroscopy.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21475043 and 21874042), Foundation of the Science & Technology Department of Hunan Province (2016SK2020), and the Hunan Provincial Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate (CX2017B225).
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Chen, H., He, K., Li, H. et al. Analyte-triggered cyclic autocatalytic oxidation amplification combined with an upconversion nanoparticle probe for fluorometric detection of copper(II). Microchim Acta 185, 484 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-018-3015-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-018-3015-z