Analytical Sciences


Abstract − Analytical Sciences, 27(6), 591 (2011).

Trypsin-Stabilized Fluorescent Gold Nanocluster for Sensitive and Selective Hg2+ Detection
Hideya KAWASAKI, Kouta YOSHIMURA, Kenji HAMAGUCHI, and Ryuichi ARAKAWA
Department of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry, Materials and Bioengineering, Kansai University, 3-3-35 Yamate, Suita, Osaka 564-8680, Japan
We report on trypsin-stabilized fluorescent gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) for the sensitive and selective detection of Hg2+ ions. The Au NCs have an average size of 1 nm and show a red emission at 645 nm. The photostable properties of the trypsin-stabilized Au NCs were examined, and their photochemical stability was found to be similar to that of CdSe quantum dots. The fluorescence was particularly quenched by Hg2+, and therefore the Au NCs can be used as fluorescent sensors for sensitive and selective Hg2+ detection to a detection limit of 50 ± 10 nM and the quantitative detection of Hg2+ in wide and low concentration range of 50 – 600 nM.