A new determining method of copper(II) ions at ng ml(-1) levels based on quenching of the water-soluble nanocrystals fluorescence.

CdTe nanocrystals (NCs) were prepared and modified in aqueous solution by using 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA). Compared with previous fluorescent sensors based on organic fluorophores, these NCs have the following merits. First, they are sensitive and the synthetic procedure is simple; second, they have narrow, tunable, symmetric emission spectra and are photochemically stable. The applicability of these NCs to the determination of Cu(II) ions was studied successfully. Maximum fluorescence intensity was produced at pH 7.8, with excitation and emission wavelengths at 365 and 532 nm, respectively. Under optimal conditions, linear relationships were found between the relative fluorescence intensity and the concentration of Cu(II) ions in the range 0-256 ng ml(-1) and the limit of detection was 0.19 ng ml(-1). This method was applied to determine real samples successfully. In addition, the quenching mechanism is also described.