BSA stabilized copper nanoclusters as a highly sensitive and selective probe for fluorescence sensing of Fe3+ ions

We report on the green synthesis of an effective fluorescent based sensor for selective, sensitive and rapid detection of Fe3+ ions using bovine serum albumin (BSA) stabilized copper nanoclusters. The fluorescence intensity of the BSA-CuNCs has been found to be quenched with the addition of Fe3+ ions. An extremely high selectivity and low detection limit of 10 nM (3σ/k) was observed. The sensor was also employed for the sensing of Fe3+ in wastewater and human blood serum samples. The features exhibited by the fluorescent probe suggest its promising applications in the area of analytical and biological field.