A reliable fluorescent and colorimetric dual-readout assay for Ag⁺ tracing

Silver ion pollution is a great threat to global environment and public healthcare today. Thus, quick, portable and sensitive assays for Ag⁺ tracing are highly needed. Herein, a reliable fluorescent and colorimetric dual-channel assay has been constructed for Ag⁺ detection by utilizing a terbium-based fluorescent nanomaterial (named as Tb-DPA) and a Pt/Pd nanoflower (Pt/Pd NF)-triggered reaction between N-ethyl-N-(3-sulfopropyl)-3-methylaniline sodium salt (TOPS) and 4-amino-antipyrine (4-AAP). Initially, in the sensing system containing 4-AAP, TOPS, Tb-DPA and Pt/Pd NF, TOPS and 4-AAP is catalyzed by Pt/Pd NF to produce a purple compound (called as PC1), which endows a broad UV absorption that can fully cover the emission band of Tb-DPA. Thus, the system exhibits a high UV absorption (originating from PC1) and a low fluorescence intensity (originating from Tb-DPA) which has been quenched by PC1 through a filtering effect. However, when the system meets Ag⁺, the oxidase-like activity of Pt/Pd NF will be inhibited, leading less amount of PC1. As a result, the system exhibits a decreased UV absorption and a recovered fluorescence intensity, both of which can be used for Ag⁺ detection, reporting low detection limits of 3.63 nM and 1.63 nM, respectively. Specially, results from the dual-channel assay can mutually validate each other, improving the detection reliability. Moreover, this dual-mode assay shows good capability toward Ag⁺ detection in real samples, illustrating the potential for practical applications.