MoS2-based nanoprobes for detection of silver ions in aqueous solutions and bacteria

Silver as an extensively used antibacterial agent also poses potential threats to the environment and human health. Hence, in this work, we design a fluorescent nanoprobe by using rhodamine B isothiocyanate (RhoBS) adsorbed MoS2 nanosheets to realize sensitive and selective detection of Ag(+). On the surface of RhoBS-loaded MoS2 nanosheets, Ag(+) can be reduced to Ag nanoparticles, which afterward could not only lead to the detachment of RhoBS molecules and thus their recovered fluorescence but also the surface-enhanced fluorescence from RhoBS remaining adsorbed on MoS2. Such an interesting mechanism allows highly sensitive detection of Ag(+) (down to 10 nM) with great selectivity among other metal ions. Moreover, we further demonstrate that our MoS2-RhoBS complex could act as a nontoxic nanoprobe to detect Ag(+) in live bacteria samples. Our work resulted from an unexpected finding and suggests the promise of two-dimensional transition-metal sulfide nanosheets as a novel platform for chemical and biological sensing.