Rapid, one-pot, protein-mediated green synthesis of water-soluble fluorescent nickel nanoclusters for sensitive and selective detection of tartrazine

Yong Wang; Yaxin Mu; Jie Hu; Qianfen Zhuang; Yongnian Ni

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2019.02.055

Rapid, one-pot, protein-mediated green synthesis of water-soluble fluorescent nickel nanoclusters for sensitive and selective detection of tartrazine

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2019 May 5:214:445-450. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2019.02.055. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Authors

Yong Wang¹, Yaxin Mu², Jie Hu², Qianfen Zhuang², Yongnian Ni³

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China; State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, China. Electronic address: wangyong@ncu.edu.cn.
² College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China.
³ College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China; State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, China. Electronic address: ynni@ncu.edu.cn.

PMID: 30807942
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2019.02.055

Abstract

In the work, water-soluble bovine serum albumin-protected fluorescent nickel nanoclusters (BSA-NiNCs) are used as fluorescent probes to construct a label-free fluorescence quenching sensor for sensitive and selective detection of tartrazine. The fluorescent BSA-NiNCs are synthesized in one pot using BSA as both the template and reducing agent, and hydrogen peroxide as the additive. The as-prepared NiNCs are characterized by using various analytical techniques like transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The synthesized BSA-NiNCs have a quantum yield of ca. 8% by using quinine sulfate as a standard. The sensor for tartrazine detection shows a wide linear range of 0.01-3.5 μM, with a low detection limit of 4 nM. The fluorescence quenching very likely results from the combination of the intermolecular interactions and the secondary inner filter effect between BSA-NiNCs and tartrazine. Then, the proposed sensor is successfully employed for tartrazine detection in drink samples, and the results are comparable with those based on a reference HPLC method.

Keywords: Drink; Fluorescence; Green synthesis; Nickel nanoclusters; Tartrazine.

MeSH terms

Beverages / analysis*
Fluorescent Dyes* / chemical synthesis
Fluorescent Dyes* / chemistry
Humans
Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry*
Nickel / chemistry*
Solubility
Spectrometry, Fluorescence
Tartrazine / analysis*

Substances

Fluorescent Dyes
Nickel
Tartrazine