A "turn-on" fluorescent sensor for ozone detection in ambient air using protein-directed gold nanoclusters.

A "turn-on" fluorescent sensor for ozone using bovine serum albumin-directed gold nanoclusters (BSA-Au NCs) via energy transfer was developed. The spectral overlap of fluorescent spectrum of BSA-Au NCs with absorption spectrum of indigo carmine (IDS) was utilized. Ozone cleaves C = C bond of IDS and suppresses energy transfer from BSA-Au NCs to IDS. Therefore, this proposed fluorescent sensor is a "turn-on" detection motif. It is the first application of fluorescent nanoclusters in sensitively detecting ozone from 0.2 to 12 μM with the limit of detection of 35 nM (the volume of 500 μL, 1.68 ppb). The proposed fluorescent sensor for ozone is more sensitive and faster (within 2 min) than most methods and is with good selectivity for ozone detection against other reactive oxygen species, reactive nitrogen, or metallic ions. Besides, the proposed method is also utlized in ozone detection in ambient air by monitoring 1 h (60 min) in Qijiang district in Chongqing city. The average of concentration of ozone in ambient air ranges from 44.97 to 52.85 μg/m. The results are compared with the automatic monitoring data provided by Qijiang Environmental Monitoring Station and the relative deviations range, respectively, from 2.1 to 5.6%, which suggests that it is a promising fluorescent sensor for ozone in ambient air. This study not only develops a new model of energy transfer motif using BSA-Au NCs as donor and IDS as acceptor but also expands the application of BSA-Au NCs in environmental science. Graphical abstract A "turn-on" fluorescent sensor for ozone detection using bovine serum albumin-directed gold nanoclusters (BSA-Au NCs) via energy transfer is developed. It is the first time to utilize spectral overlap of fluorescent spectrum of BSA-Au NCs with absorption spectrum of indigo carmine and to achieve fast, sensitive, and selective ozone detection with a limit of detection of down to 35 nM (the volume of 500 μL, 1.68 ppb).