Quantum mechanics

Engineering

Tap water

Mercury (programming language)

Photochemistry

Materials science

Chromatography

Computer science

Inorganic chemistry

Quenching (fluorescence)

Environmental engineering

Physics

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Carbon quantum dots

Nanoprobe

Optics

Enzyme

Fluorescence

Analytical Chemistry (journal)

Chemistry

Programming language

Detection limit

Quantum dot

Pyrophosphate

Nanochemistry

Microchimica Acta

Pyrophosphate-modified carbon quantum dots (PP-CDs) are demonstrated to be a viable fluorescent nanoprobe for mercury(II) (Hg2+) detection. Hg2+ reacts with the pyrophosphate groups on the surface of PP-CDs to form a non-fluorescent complex. This results in quenching of the green fluorescence which has excitation/emission peaks at 400/513 nm. Static quenching is shown to be the dominant mechanism. The probe works in 0.1 μM to 1.4 μM Hg2+ concentration range, and the limit of detection is 2 nM. The PP-CDs were also used to visualize Hg2+ inside human hepatocyte LO2 cells.

A fluorometric method for mercury(II) detection based on the use of pyrophosphate-modified carbon quantum dots