Issue 16, 2012
From the journal:

Analyst

Nanoparticles as scaffolds for FRET-based ratiometric detection of mercury ions in water with QDs as donors†

Baoyu Liu,a   Fang Zeng,*a   Guangfei Wua  and  Shuizhu Wu*ab  

* Corresponding authors

a College of Materials Science & Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
E-mail: mcfzeng@scut.edu.cn
Tel: +86 20 22236363

b State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials & Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
E-mail: shzhwu@scut.edu.cn
Tel: +86 20 22236262

Abstract

The quenching of quantum dots' emission by some analytes (Hg2+, Pb2+, etc.) has long been hindering the fabrication of QD-based ‘turn-on’ or ratiometric fluorescent sensors for these analytes. In this study, we demonstrate a facile solution for constructing a robust FRET-based ratiometric sensor for Hg2+ detection in water with CdTe QDs as the donor. By using the reverse microemulsion approach, CdTe QDs were first embedded into nanosized silica particles, forming the QDs/silica cores, a positively charged ultrathin spacer layer was then deposited on each QDs/silica core, followed by the coating of a mercury ion probe on the particle surfaces. The resultant multilayered QDs/silica composite nanoparticles are dispersible in HEPES buffered water; and in the presence of mercury ions, the QDs inside the nanoparticles will not be quenched by mercury ions due to the existence of the positively charged spacer layer, but can transfer their excited energy to the acceptors (probe/Hg2+ complex), thus achieving the FRET-based ratiometric sensing for mercury ions in totally aqueous media. With its detection limit of 260 nM, this QD-based sensor exhibits high selectivity toward mercury ion and can be used in a wide pH range. This strategy may be used to construct QDs-based ratiometric assays for other ions which quench the emission of QDs.

Graphical abstract: Nanoparticles as scaffolds for FRET-based ratiometric detection of mercury ions in water with QDs as donors

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Supplementary files

Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/C2AN35434A
Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Apr 2012
Accepted
29 May 2012
First published
30 May 2012

Analyst, 2012,137, 3717-3724

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Nanoparticles as scaffolds for FRET-based ratiometric detection of mercury ions in water with QDs as donors

B. Liu, F. Zeng, G. Wu and S. Wu, Analyst, 2012, 137, 3717 DOI: 10.1039/C2AN35434A

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