A turn-on fluorescent sensor for sensitive and selective detection of sodium dodecyl sulfate based on the eosin Y/polyethyleneimine system.

A novel sensing system has been designed for the detection of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) based on the recovered fluorescence signal of eosin Y and polyethyleneimine (PEI) complex. The eosin Y reacted with PEI to form a complex by virtue of hydrophobic interaction as well as the electrostatic interaction, which resulted in a strong fluorescence quenching of the eosin Y. Subsequently, with the addition of SDS to the eosin Y/PEI system, a strong surface interaction and electrostatic interactions between PEI and SDS resulted in the formation of the PEI/SDS complex and the dissociation of the eosin Y/PEI complex, which led to the significant fluorescence recovery. Herein, we have demonstrated that this facile methodology can offer a rapid, reliable, and selective detection of SDS with a detection limit as low as 0.02 μg mL(-1) and a linear range from 0.4 to 6 μg mL(-1). Furthermore, the method has been successfully applied to the detection of SDS in real samples with satisfied recovery and accuracy. Overall, these results demonstrate that this method has great promise for environmental applications.