A ratiometric and far-red fluorescence "off-on" sensor for sequential determination of copper(II) and L-histidine based on FRET system between N-acetyl-L-cysteine-capped AuNCs and N,S,P co-doped carbon dots.

A far-red fluorescence "off-on" sensing strategy is described for sequential ratiometric determination of Cu2+ and L-histidine (L-His) based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) system. N,S,P co-doped carbon dots (N,S,P-CDs) and N-acetyl-L-cysteine functionalized gold nanoclusters (NAC-AuNCs) are used in the FRET system, which serve as energy donor and acceptor, respectively. After adding NAC-AuNCs into the solution of N,S,P-CDs, the fluorescence of N,S,P-CDs is effectively quenched, while the far-red fluorescence of NAC-AuNCs appears. Cu2+ can decrease fluorescence of NAC-AuNCs, and then L-His can effectively recover the fluorescence of NAC-AuNCs. The possible reason is that the stronger affinity between Cu2+ and L-His can pull Cu2+ away from the surface of NAC-AuNCs. Through it all, the emission intensity of N,S,P-CDs remains nearly constant, so the ratio of fluorescence intensities at 485 and 625 nm exhibits a linear correlation to the Cu2+ and L-His concentration, respectively. The sensing platform shows good selectivity towards Cu2+ and L-His with a linear range of 0.65-26.58 µM and 3.13-56.25 µM and determination limits of 0.50 µM and 0.374 µM, respectively. The proposed method has been successfully used for Cu2+ and L-His determination in real samples with satisfying results. Graphical abstract.