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Updated: Mar 18, 2026
A Filter-based Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopic Assay for Rapid Detection of Chemical Contaminants
Published on: February 19, 2016
A convenient purification method for silver nanoclusters and its applications in fluorescent pH sensors for bacterial
Huayu Xiong1, Huiling Zheng1, Wei Wang1
1Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Green Transformation of Bio-resources, Ministry-of-Education Key Laboratory for the Synthesis and Application of Organic Functional Molecules & College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China.
Abstract:
Herein, we report a convenient approach to purify water-soluble dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA)-capped Ag nanoclusters (Ag NCs) by pH-induced precipitation under acidic conditions. The fluorescence of Ag NCs could be completely recovered by re-dispersing the precipitate into a basic solution using DHLA and NaBH4 as stabilizing ligands and etching reagent. DHLA-Ag NCs-doped agarose hydrogels have been prepared to monitor pH with a wide range from 8.0 to 4.0. When pH decreased, the fluorescence of the hydrogels under a UV lamp decreased and completely disappeared after pH 5. The DHLA-Ag NCs-doped agarose hydrogels biosensor showed low cytotoxicity and long stability. Accordingly, a fluorescent pH sensor for bacterial monitoring has been employed based on the "OFF-ON" signal switch of the Ag NCs-agarose hydrogel.
