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A dual-mode nanoprobe based on silicon nanoparticles and Fe(II)-phenanthroline for the colorimetric and fluorescence determination of nitrite

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Abstract

A fluorometric and colorimetric dual-modal nanoprobe (denoted as Fe2+-Phen/SiNPs) has been developed for selective and sensitive determination of nitrite (NO2−). The mechanism is based on fluorescence quenching between silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs) and Fe(II)-phenanthroline complex (Fe2+-Phen) via inner filter effect and redox. With the addition of increasing NO2−, Fe2+ is oxidized to Fe3+, recovering the fluorescence of SiNPs. Meanwhile, the color of the system gradually changes from orange-red to colorless, which enables colorimetric measurement. The NO2− concentration shows a wide linear relationship with fluorescence intensity from 0.1 to 1.0 mM (R2 = 0.9955) with a detection limit of 2.4 μM in the fluorometric method (excitation wavelength: 380 nm). By contrast, the linear range of the colorimetric method ranges from 0.01 to 0.35 mM (R2 = 0.9953) with a limit of detection of 6.8 μM (proposed selective absorbance: 510 nm). The probe has been successfully applied to nitrite determination in water, salted vegetables, and hams demonstrating broad application prospects for the determination of nitrite in complicated matrices.

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Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Project of Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (No. CXGC2023A38, CXGC2023B06, CXGC2023F09), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province of China (No. ZR2023QC284), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 22106080).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Food & Nutrition Science and Technology, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, 250100, People’s Republic of China

    Chunlei Yang, Guiju Xu, Chenghao Hou, Lizeng Peng, Weiting Wang & Hongwei Zhang

  2. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoling Zhang

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  1. Chunlei Yang
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  2. Guiju Xu
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  3. Chenghao Hou
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Correspondence to Chunlei Yang or Hongwei Zhang.

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Yang, C., Xu, G., Hou, C. et al. A dual-mode nanoprobe based on silicon nanoparticles and Fe(II)-phenanthroline for the colorimetric and fluorescence determination of nitrite. Microchim Acta 190, 318 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-023-05911-y

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