Dye-sensitized lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoprobe for enhanced sensitive detection of Fe in human serum and tap water.

Iron ion (Fe) detection is crucial for human health since it plays a crucial role in many physiological activities. In this work, a novel Schiff-base functionalized cyanine derivative (CyPy) was synthesized, which was successfully assembled on the surface of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) through an amphiphilic polymer encapsulation method. In the as-designed nanoprobe, CyPy, a recognizer of Fe, is served as energy donor and β-NaYF:Yb,Er upconversion nanoparticles are adopted as energy acceptor.

Bright photoactivatable probes based on triphenylethylene for Cu detection in tap water and tea samples.

Photoactivatable probes can switch fluorescence on from a weak or nonemission state to improve the sensitivity of the sensing system. In this work, we successfully constructed three highly emissive photoactivatable probes, 2-DP, 1-2-DP and 2-2-DP, for Cu detection. Under UV irradiation, the photoluminescence quantum yields of 2-DP, 1-2-DP and 2-2-DP display approximately 52.