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Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Highly Sensitive and Rapid Fluorescence Detection with a Portable FRET Analyzer
Published on: October 1, 2016
A fast, highly selective and sensitive colorimetric and fluorescent sensor for Cu2+ and its application in real water
Zongrang Guo1, Qingfen Niu1, Tianduo Li1
1Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering, School of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
A new oligothiophene functionalized Schiff base sensor 3TDC has been successfully designed and synthesized. Sensor 3TDC exhibited "naked-eye" colorimetric and selective "on-off" fluorescence response toward Cu2+ with high selectivity and sensitivity within a wide pH range. The binding ratio of the sensor 3TDC and Cu2+ was determined to be 1:1 through fluorescence titration, Job's plot, 1H NMR titration, FTIR and DFT studies. The detection limit is calculated to be as low as 2.81 × 10-8 M, which is much lower than the allowable level of Cu2+ in drinking water set by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (~20 μM) and the World Health Organization (~30 μM). The binding constant (Ka) of Cu2+ to sensor 3TDC was found to be 2.52 × 104 M-1. Sensor 3TDC for Cu2+ detection exhibited fast fluorescence response within 30 s and high anti-interference performance. Moreover, sensor 3TDC could be used as an effective fluorescent sensor for detecting Cu2+ ions in various real water and food samples with good accuracy and high precision.
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