A Highly Sensitive Fluorescent Sensor for Amitrole Determination in Aqueous Samples

Abstract

A simple yet sensitive fluorescent sensor was reported for amitrole analysis based on integration of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and CdTe quantum dots (CdTe QDs) via inner filter effect (IFE). The fluorescence of GSH-coated CdTe QDs can be significantly quenched by AuNPs, and gradually restored in the presence of amitrole. Addition of amitrole induced AuNPs aggregation and decreased their characteristic surface plasmon absorption, which diminished the IFE between them. The sensor platform realized high sensitivity and good reproducibility in low concentration amitrole ranging from 9.5[Formula: see text]nM to 1000[Formula: see text]nM with a detection limit down to 4.75[Formula: see text]nM under the optimized conditions. It also resisted a wide range of interfering counterparts and showed analytical performance comparable to the majority of analytical methods reported in prior studies. We envisioned the first fluorescent amitrole sensor would be potentially useful for low cost on-site amitrole monitoring in real application.