Journal
TALANTA
Volume 160, Issue -, Pages 475-480Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2016.07.030
Keywords
Copper nanoclusters; Acid induction; Electron transfer; Trinitrophenol; Quenching
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [21575074, 21375072, 21545005]
- Basic Research Program of Qingdao [14-2-4-102-jch]
- Research Foundation for Distinguished Scholars of Qingdao Agricultural University [663-1113311, 663-1113334]
- Special Foundation for Taishan Scholar of Shandong Province
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Reliable, selective and sensitive approaches for trinitrophenol (TNP) detection are highly desirable with respect to national security and environmental protection. Herein, a simple and novel fluorescent strategy for highly sensitive and specific TNP assay has been successfully developed, which is based on the quenching of the fluorescent poly(thymine)-templated copper nanoclusters (DNA-CuNCs), through the synergetic effects of acid induction and electron transfer. Upon the addition of TNP, donor-acceptor complexes between the electron-deficient nitro-groups in TNP and the electron-donating DNA templates are formed, resulting in the close proximity between TNP and CuNCs. Moreover, the acidity of TNP contributes to the pH decrease of the system. These factors combine to dramatically quench the fluorescence of DNA-CuNCs, providing a signal-off strategy for TNP sensing. The as-proposed strategy demonstrates high sensitivity for TNP assay, and a detection limit of 0.03 mu M is obtained, which is lower than those reported by using organic fluorescent materials. More significantly, this approach shows outstanding selectivity over a number of TNP analogues, such as 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT), 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP), 3-nitrophenol (NP), nitrobenzene (NB), phenol (BP), and toluene (BT). Compared with previous studies, this method does not need complex DNA sequence design, fluorescent dye labeling, or sophisticated organic reactions, rendering the strategy with additional advantages of simplicity and cost-effectiveness. In addition, the as-proposed strategy has been adopted for the detection of TNP in natural water samples, indicating its great potential to be applied in the fields of public safety and environmental monitoring. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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