article · RSC Advances
An iodinated cyanine dye named CyI enables the ultrasensitive and selective detection of silver nanoparticles and silver ions through aggregation-induced emission. The sensor operates via halogen bond formation between the iodine atom in the dye skeleton and the plasmonic surfaces of silver nanoparticles, or vacant orbitals of silver ions. This halogen bonding causes the dye to aggregate, triggering a pronounced fluorescence enhancement. The system detects silver nanoparticles linearly between 1.0 and 8.2 picomolar, achieving a limit of detection of 6.21 picomolar. For silver ions, the response is linear from 1.0 to 10 micromolar with a limit of detection of 2.36 micromolar. The sensing mechanism demonstrates high selectivity, remaining unaffected by other metal ions at ten times higher concentrations, and functions effectively in tap water and agricultural wastewater samples.
Silver nanoparticles are increasingly used across industries, but their release into environmental water and agricultural runoff poses contamination concerns. This approach provides an inexpensive, simple, and highly selective way to detect trace amounts of silver nanoparticles without interference from common metal contaminants, helping support more effective environmental testing and water quality assurance.
The method offers an applied sensing approach for environmental monitoring and wastewater management. Potential users include water testing laboratories, environmental regulators, and agricultural managers seeking low-cost detection of trace nanoparticles. As the sensor has been tested on real tap water and wastewater samples in a laboratory setting, it represents an applied testing stage, though the abstract does not describe a packaged portable product.
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Aggregation induced emission (AIE) has emerged as a powerful method for sensing applications. Based on AIE triggered by halogen bond (XB) formation, an ultrasensitive and selective sensor for picomolar detection of Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) is reported. The dye (CyI) has an iodine atom in its skeleton which functions as a halogen bond acceptor, and aggregates on the Ag NP plasmonic surfaces as a halogen bond donor or forms halogen bonds with the vacant π orbitals of silver ions (Ag<sup>+</sup>). Formation of XB leads to fluorescence enhancement, which forms the basis of the Ag NPs or Ag<sup>+</sup> sensor. The sensor response is linearly dependent on the Ag NP concentration over the range 1.0-8.2 pM with an LOD of 6.21 pM (<i>σ</i> = 3), while for Ag<sup>+</sup> it was linear over the 1.0-10 μM range (LOD = 2.36 μM). The sensor shows a remarkable sensitivity for Ag NPs (pM), compared to that for Ag<sup>+</sup> (μM). The sensor did not show any interference from different metal ions with 10-fold higher concentrations. This result indicates that the proposed sensor is inexpensive, simple, sensitive, and selective for the detection of Ag NPs in both tap and wastewater samples.
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DOI: 10.1039/c8ra04186e
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