Tenfold enhancement of fluorescence quantum yield of water soluble silver nanoclusters for nano-molar level glucose sensing and precise determination of blood glucose level

Specially designed water soluble fluorescent silver nanoclusters anchored with 3-aminophenyl boronic acid (AgNCs-a-APBA) have been synthesized sonochemically in environmentally benign water medium. The new material (AgNCs-a-APBA) shows tenfold enhancement of fluorescence intensity compared to AgNCs. Fluorescence quenching experiments reveals its precise glucose sensing property up to nano molar level. The method utilized to check glucose level in human blood sample and the results are compared with conventional data obtained from Glucometer and Colorimetric/Fluorometric Assay kit. The role of APBA in enhancing fluorescence property has been explained. The hydrogen bonding-driven aggregation of APBA with AgNCs and the glucose-triggered disaggregation of the nanoclusters are investigated in details. The synthesized materials are characterized with the help of conventional experimental techniques such as UV-vis, TEM, HR-MS, FTIR, SAED, XRD, DLS and fluorescence measurements. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.