Wang Hai-Bo, Mao An-Li, Gan Tian, Liu Yan-Ming
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Institute for Conservation and Utilization of Agro-bioresources in Dabie Mountains, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang 464000, China.
Analyst. 2020 Oct 26;145(21):7009-7017. doi: 10.1039/d0an01247e.
As a class of ideal fluorescent nanomaterials, self-assembled copper nanoclusters (CuNCs) have attracted increasing interest. Unfortunately, most of these CuNCs only possessed bright luminescence in acidic solution, which limited their practical applications in a physiological environment. Retaining the strong fluorescence of these CuNCs in neutral or alkaline solution is still a challenging task. In this strategy, self-assembled CuNCs were prepared by using 4-methylthiophenol as the protecting ligand. The self-assembled CuNCs display stable and bright luminescence with excitation/emission maxima at 330/605 nm even in neutral and alkaline environments. Interestingly, with the addition of glutathione (GSH), the fluorescence intensity of CuNCs is enhanced strongly through the GSH-controlled aggregation-induced emission enhancement of self-assembled CuNCs. The turn-on fluorescence strategy can determine the GSH concentration in the range from 1 to 100 μM with a limit of detection of 300 nM. In addition, the method is employed for the determination of GSH levels in cells. Therefore, the turn-on fluorescence strategy is reliable, sensitive and suitable for the determination of cellular GSH levels.
作为一类理想的荧光纳米材料，自组装铜纳米簇（CuNCs）已引起越来越多的关注。不幸的是，这些CuNCs大多仅在酸性溶液中具有明亮的发光，这限制了它们在生理环境中的实际应用。在中性或碱性溶液中保持这些CuNCs的强荧光仍然是一项具有挑战性的任务。在本策略中，以4-甲基硫酚作为保护配体制备了自组装CuNCs。即使在中性和碱性环境中，自组装CuNCs也能在330/605 nm处呈现稳定且明亮的发光，其激发/发射最大值位于该波长。有趣的是，加入谷胱甘肽（GSH）后，通过GSH控制的自组装CuNCs的聚集诱导发射增强，CuNCs的荧光强度得到显著增强。这种开启式荧光策略能够测定浓度范围为1至100μM的GSH，检测限为300 nM。此外，该方法还用于测定细胞中的GSH水平。因此，这种开启式荧光策略可靠、灵敏，适用于测定细胞内GSH水平。
