A cyclodextrin-based turn-off fluorescent probe for naked-eye detection of copper ions in aqueous solution.

A novel fluorescent probe L consisting of β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) and thiosemicarbazide moieties was designed for copper ions detection. Apparent fluorescence quenching of probe L in Tris-HCl（pH = 7.4）solution was observed only in the presence of Cu, among other interfering ions. The present probe L was 1:1 complexed with Cu and the detection limit of probe L was calculated to be 1.37 μM. The results demonstrate that the probe L may provide a convenient method for visual detection of Cu in the environmental and biological systems.