A fluorescent sensor to detect sodium dodecyl sulfate based on the glutathione-stabilized gold nanoclusters/poly diallyldimethylammonium chloride system.

A simple method for the detection of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was developed based on glutathione-stabilized gold nanoclusters (GSH-AuNCs) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium)chloride (PDDA) enhanced fluorescent system. Fluorescent Au NCs were synthesized by a one-step approach employing GSH as reducing/protecting reagent. The electrostatic group repulsions between GSH-Au NCs and PDDA resulted in strong fluorescence enhancement from the GSH-Au NCs. Moreover, the addition of SDS was able to cause a significant fluorescence recovery due to the strong affinity of PDDA and SDS. Thus the SDS can be detected. Under optimized conditions, the linear response to detect SDS ranges from 0.2 to 12 µg mL(-1) with a detection limit of 0.02 µg mL(-1).