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Highly sensitive colorimetric and fluorescent sensor for cyanazine based on the inner filter effect of gold nanoparticles

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Abstract

Cyanazine residue poses a great threat to human health and its derivatives would remain in soils, natural waters, and other environmental domains for a long time. Herein, a simple, rapid, and ultra-sensitive analytical method for the determination of cyanazine (CZ) based on inner filter effect (IFE) of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) on the fluorescence of CdTe quantum dots (QDs) is first described in this study. With the presence of citrate-stabilized AuNPs, the fluorescence of GSH-capped CdTe QDs was remarkably quenched by AuNPs via IFE. The fluorescence of the AuNP–CdTe QD system was recovered upon addition of CZ. CZ can adsorb on to the surface of AuNPs due to its cyano group that has good affinity with gold, which could induce the aggregation of AuNPs accompanying color change from red to blue. Thus, the IFE of AuNPs on CdTe QDs was weakened, and the fluorescence intensity of CdTe QDs was recovered accordingly. A good linear correlation for detection of CZ was exhibited from 0.05 to 9 μM, and the detection limit reached 0.1568 μM, which was much lower than the safety limit required by the USA, the UK, and China. In order to probe into the selectivity of AuNPs towards CZ over other pesticides, various frequently used pesticides were mixed with AuNPs. AuNP composite solution shows good selectivity towards CZ among other pesticides. This method was successfully carried out for the assessment of CZ in real samples with satisfactory results, which revealed many advantages such as high sensitivity, low cost, and non-time-consuming compared with traditional methods.

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Acknowledgments

The present study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (31171684), Key Technologies R&D Program of China (2014BAD07B02) Key Technologies R&D Program of Sichuan Province of China (2013FZ0043), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (CQDXWL-2013-030), Open fund of Liquor-Making Biotech and Application Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province (NJ2014-03), and Graduate Student Research Innovation Project in Chongqing (CYB14013) Sharing fund of Chongqing university’s large equipment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Biorheology Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Liang Dong, Changjun Hou, Mei Yang, Huixiang Wu & Danqun Huo

  2. Sichuan University of Science & Engineering, Zigong, 643000, China

    Liang Dong

  3. National Key Laboratory of Fundamental Science of Micro Nano-Device and System Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Changjun Hou

  4. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Huanbao Fa

  5. National Engineering Research Center of Solid-State Brewing, Luzhou Laojiao Group Co.Ltd, Luzhou, 646000, Sichuan, China

    Caihong Shen

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  1. Liang Dong
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  2. Changjun Hou
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  3. Mei Yang
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  4. Huanbao Fa
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  5. Huixiang Wu
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  7. Danqun Huo
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Correspondence to Changjun Hou or Danqun Huo.

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Liang Dong declares that he has no conflict of interest. Changjun Hou declares that he has no conflict of interest. Huanbao Fa declares that he has no conflict of interest. Mei Yang declares that she has no conflict of interest. Huixiang Wu declares that he has no conflict of interest. Caihong Shen declares that he has no conflict of interest. Danqun Huo declares that she has no conflict of interest.

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Dong, L., Hou, C., Yang, M. et al. Highly sensitive colorimetric and fluorescent sensor for cyanazine based on the inner filter effect of gold nanoparticles. J Nanopart Res 18, 164 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-016-3398-x

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