Trigonal-Pyramidal Coordination-Triggered Conformational Changes in Multiemission Carbon Dots Enable Highly Selective
Panpan Zhu1,2, Sheng-Li Hou1, Liu Zhenhai1
1College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, Nankai University, 38 Tongyan Rd, Tianjin 300350, China.
A new sensor accurately detects toxic arsenic (As(III)) in groundwater, overcoming interference issues common with other methods. This bio-inspired tool offers reliable, rapid arsenic detection for safer drinking water globally.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Analytical Chemistry
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Arsenic contamination in groundwater poses significant health risks globally.
- Existing detection methods often lack selectivity and are prone to interference from other water constituents.
- Developing rapid, accurate, and robust arsenic detection tools is crucial for public health and environmental monitoring.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel, self-calibrating fluorescent sensor for the selective and sensitive detection of As(III).
- To address the limitations of current arsenic detection technologies, particularly interference in complex water matrices.
- To create a bio-inspired sensing platform for reliable heavy metal detection.
Main Methods:
- Synthesized a novel sensor (DMSA-M-CDs) by functionalizing multi-emission carbon dots with dimercaptosuccinic acid, inspired by microbial arsenic resistance mechanisms.
- Utilized donor-acceptor luminophores and a trigonal-pyramidal complex formation with As(III) via As-S bonds to induce fluorescence quenching.
- Validated sensor performance against 42 coexisting constituents and compared results with liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LC-ICP-MS) using real groundwater samples.
Main Results:
- The DMSA-M-CDs sensor achieved a low detection limit of 1.0 μg/L for As(III).
- Demonstrated unprecedented selectivity and robustness against 42 interfering substances in complex water samples.
- Achieved comparable results to LC-ICP-MS in real groundwater samples, indicating high reliability.
Conclusions:
- The bio-inspired DMSA-M-CDs sensor provides a highly selective, robust, and accurate method for detecting toxic As(III) in environmental water.
- This sensing strategy offers a significant advancement in rapid and reliable heavy metal detection, addressing a critical global health concern.
- The developed sensor represents a novel paradigm for tackling widespread heavy metal contamination in water resources.
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