Al3+ lights up Ag/Au clusters to sense fluoroquinolones
Dithioerythritol Ag/Au nanoclusters aggregate with Al3+ and then report ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin and enrofloxacin by ratiometric fluorescence down to a few nanomolar.
Source
Dithioerythritol-capped silver/gold nanoclusters for determination of ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and enrofloxacin in food and urine samples
Study at a glance
- Design
- Other — DIT@AgAuNC fluorescence probe with Al3+ AIE for fluoroquinolone quantification vs HPLC
- N
- Analytical method validated in eggs, milk, and urine — no subject cohort N
- Population
- Food and urine matrices spiked with ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and enrofloxacin
- Outcome
- Nanomolar LODs and recoveries for fluoroquinolone determination
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
What they did
Authors prepared DIT@AgAuNCs, characterised them by FTIR/XPS/DLS/lifetime, optimised Al3+ aggregation-induced emission, and quantified CIP/NOR/ENR in eggs, milk and urine versus HPLC-UV.
What they found
Al3+ raises quantum yield from 3.28% to 12.89% and lifetime from 11.03 to 17.89 ns. LODs are 3.1, 3.8 and 4.4 nM; recoveries 94–106% (RSD < 4.09%) in 1.5 min. The probe cannot distinguish mixed FQs.
The limits
What it doesn't show
The assay does not speciate overlapping FQs in mixtures and was not tested in blood.
Key terms
- AIE
- Aggregation-induced emission: fluorescence rises when clusters aggregate.
- DIT@AgAuNCs
- Dithioerythritol-capped bimetallic silver/gold nanoclusters.
- Ratiometric fluorescence
- Intensity ratio at two wavelengths, reducing instrumental drift.
- Fluoroquinolones
- Antibiotics CIP, NOR and ENR detected here.
- Al3+ trigger
- Lewis-acid ion that coordinates DIT OH/SH and turns on AIE.
Flashcards
Research intelligence for this paper
See its role on concept claims, tensions it is part of, placement history, and related discoveries.
Quiz yourself
Al3+ is used to:
Common questions
What metal ion turns on emission?
Al3+.
What are the LODs?
3.1 nM CIP, 3.8 nM NOR, 4.4 nM ENR.
How fast is the assay?
About 1.5 minutes.
What is a stated limitation?
Cannot distinguish different FQs in mixtures; no blood tests.
More on Spectroscopy