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Simple and sensitive detection method for chromium(VI) in water using glutathione—capped CdTe quantum dots as fluorescent probes

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Abstract

Water-soluble and stable CdTe quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized in aqueous solution with glutathione (GSH) as the stabilizer. GSH is employed by nature to detoxify heavy metal ions. As a result of specific interaction, the fluorescence intensity of GSH-capped QDs is selectively reduced in the presence of Cr(VI). Under the optimum conditions, the relative fluorescence intensity decreases linearly with the Cr(VI) concentration in the range from 0.01 to 1.00 µg mL−1, and the detection limit is 0.008 µg mL−1. The luminescence response of the QDs to ions markedly depended on the particle size, and a new strategy for tuning the selectivity of luminescent QDs to certain ions without changing the capping layer of the QDs can be achieved by changing the crystallite size of the QDs.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 20405009) and by the Key Project of Chinese Ministry of Education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science of Shaanxi Province, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, 710062, China

    Lijuan Zhang, Chunli Xu & Baoxin Li

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  1. Lijuan Zhang
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  2. Chunli Xu
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  3. Baoxin Li
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Correspondence to Baoxin Li.

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Zhang, L., Xu, C. & Li, B. Simple and sensitive detection method for chromium(VI) in water using glutathione—capped CdTe quantum dots as fluorescent probes. Microchim Acta 166, 61–68 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-009-0164-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-009-0164-0

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