Germanium nanocrystals as luminescent probes for rapid, sensitive and label-free detection of Fe3+ ions

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dc.contributor.authorCarolan, Darragh
dc.contributor.authorDoyle, Hugh
dc.contributor.funderHigher Education Authorityen
dc.contributor.funderEuropean Commission
dc.date.accessioned2016-05-05T10:23:54Z
dc.date.available2016-05-05T10:23:54Z
dc.date.issued2015-02-24
dc.date.updated2016-04-10T17:45:09Z
dc.description.abstractLuminescent water-soluble germanium nanocrystals (Ge NCs) have been developed as a fluorescent sensing platform for the highly selective and sensitive detection of Fe3+ via quenching of their strong blue luminescence, without the need for analyte-specific labelling groups. The amine-terminated Ge NCs were separated into two discrete size fractions with average diameters of 3.9 +/- 0.4 nm and 6.8 +/- 1.8 nm using centrifugation. The smaller 3.9 nm NCs possessed a strong blue luminescence, with an average lifetime of 6.1 ns and a quantum yield (QY) of 21.5%, which is strongly influenced by solution pH. In contrast, 6.8 nm NCs exhibited a green luminescence with a longer lifetime of 7.8 ns and lower QY (6.2%) that is insensitive to pH. Sensitive detection of Fe3+ was successfully demonstrated, with a linear relationship between luminescence quenching and Fe3+ concentration observed from 0-800 mu M, with a limit of detection of 0.83 mu M. The Ge NCs show excellent selectivity toward Fe3+ ions, with no quenching of the fluorescence signal induced by the presence of Fe2+ ions, allowing for solution phase discrimination between ions of the same element with different formal charges. The luminescence quenching mechanism was confirmed by static and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopies, while the applicability for this assay for detection of Fe3+ in real water samples was successfully demonstrated.en
dc.description.sponsorshipEuropean Commission (FP7 Projects: HYSENS, grant agreement no 263091; COMMONSENSE, grant agreement no 261809; SNAPSUN, grant agreement no 246310); Higher Education Authority (PRTLI programs: Cycle 3 “Nanoscience” and Cycle 4 “INSPIRE”)en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationCAROLAN, D. & DOYLE, H. 2015. Germanium nanocrystals as luminescent probes for rapid, sensitive and label-free detection of Fe3+ ions. Nanoscale, 7, pp. 5488-5494. doi: 10.1039/C4NR07470Jen
dc.identifier.doi10.1039/C4NR07470J
dc.identifier.endpage5494en
dc.identifier.issn2040-3364
dc.identifier.journaltitleNanoscaleen
dc.identifier.startpage5488en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/2507
dc.identifier.volume7en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherThe Royal Society of Chemistryen
dc.rights© 2015, the Authors.en
dc.subjectFluorescent sensing platformen
dc.subjectNanocrystalsen
dc.subjectHighly luminescenten
dc.subjectMetal ionsen
dc.subjectGermaniumen
dc.subjectSensitive detectionen
dc.titleGermanium nanocrystals as luminescent probes for rapid, sensitive and label-free detection of Fe3+ ionsen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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