Skip to content
PaperFren

Spectroscopy

Al3+ lights up Ag/Au clusters to sense fluoroquinolones

Goda MN, Alqarni LS, Ibrahim H, et al. · RSC advances · 2025

Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC

Dithioerythritol Ag/Au nanoclusters aggregate with Al3+ and then report ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin and enrofloxacin by ratiometric fluorescence down to a few nanomolar.

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.

Key findings

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.

Methodology

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.

Limitations

The assay does not speciate overlapping FQs in mixtures and was not tested in blood.

How this study connects

Role on claims

Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.

  • SupportsHPLCmethod

    A fluorescent Ag/Au nanocluster assay can match HPLC-UV recoveries without matching HPLC's ability to speciate. Al³⁺ raises DIT@AgAuNC quantum yield from 3.28% to 12.89% and lifetime from 11.03 to 17.89 ns; LODs for CIP/NOR/ENR are 3.1, 3.8 and 4.4 nM with recoveries 94–106% (RSD < 4.09%) in 1.5 min in eggs, milk and urine versus HPLC-UV. The probe cannot distinguish mixed fluoroquinolones.

    Evidence for the claim as stated.

  • SupportsHPLCmethod

    Agreement with HPLC-UV recoveries does not mean the new assay is HPLC. The Ag/Au cluster probe matches 94–106% recoveries in 1.5 min but cannot speciate mixed FQs, which a chromatographic method is built to do. Pemigatinib LC–MS/MS recovery 101.7% is a validated concentration assay in HLM, not a 1.5 min optical screen.

    Evidence for the claim as stated.

  • Al³⁺-aggregated dithioerythritol-capped Ag/Au nanoclusters turn fluorescence into a fluoroquinolone assay. Quantum yield rises 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 for CIP/NOR/ENR with recoveries 94–106% (RSD < 4.09%) in 1.5 min in eggs, milk and urine versus HPLC-UV. The probe cannot distinguish mixed FQs and was not tested in blood.

    Evidence for the claim as stated.

  • Turn-on sensing, turn-off sensing, FRET photocatalysis and photoluminescence quenching of a molecular catalyst are four fluorescence experiments. Ag/Au clusters raise ΦF 3.28% → 12.89% to report nM FQs; phage carbons quench to LOD 8.0 μM Fe³⁺; TB-Zn-CP quenches to 26.3 ppb picric acid; TPE cages donate to RhB (ΦET 77%/58%) to drive 97% cyclisation; Pt(II) PL quenching assigns oxidative quenching for >82% alkene CF₃ products. 'Fluorescence showed it worked' does not travel among those papers.

    Evidence for the claim as stated.

  • A fluorescence LOD is not a chromatographic identity. The cluster probe’s 3.1–4.4 nM LODs match HPLC-UV recoveries but cannot speciate mixed FQs. Inner-filter Fe³⁺ quenching at 8.0 μM is a different (and coarser) analytical claim than 26.3 ppb picric acid by Stern–Volmer on a coordination polymer.

    Evidence for the claim as stated.

Open questions

Tensions this paper is part of

From concept pages' “where studies disagree.” Disagreement means the same question; scope means different assays, populations, or outcomes.

Related papers in this topic

Same topic cluster — not a recommendation engine.