1. Silicon-based fluorescent platforms for copper(<scp>ii</scp>) detection in water
- Author
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Francesco Quochi, Andrea Mura, Suchithra Ashoka-Sahadevan, Claudia Caltagirone, Mariangela Oggianu, Daniela Marongiu, Vito Lippolis, Maria Laura Mercuri, Enzo Cadoni, Giovanni Bongiovanni, Cristiana Figus, Noemi Monni, Michele Saba, and Carla Cannas
- Subjects
Detection limit ,Quenching (fluorescence) ,Fluorophore ,Materials science ,Silicon ,General Chemical Engineering ,Metal ions in aqueous solution ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Nanotechnology ,General Chemistry ,Copper ,Fluorescence ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,Molecule - Abstract
The potential of silicon-based fluorescent platforms for the detection of trace toxic metal ions was investigated in an aqueous environment. To this aim, silicon chips were first functionalized with amino groups, and fluorescein organic dyes, used as sensing molecules, were then covalently linked to the surface via formation of thiourea groups. The obtained hybrid heterostructures exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity towards copper(II), a limit of detection compatible with the recommended upper limits for copper in drinking water, and good reversibility using a standard metal–chelating agent. The fluorophore–analyte interaction mechanism at the basis of the reported fluorescence quenching, as well as the potential of performance improvement, were also studied. The herein presented sensing architecture allows, in principle, tailoring of the selectivity towards other metal ions by proper fluorophore selection, and provides a favorable outlook for integration of fluorescent chemosensors with silicon photonics technology.
- Published
- 2021