Dual-emission ratiometric nanoprobe for visual detection of Cu(II) and intracellular fluorescence imaging

Copper is an essential mineral nutrient for the human body. However, excessive levels of copper accumulated in the body can cause some diseases. Therefore, it is great significant to establish a sensitive bioprobe to recognize copper ions (Cu2+) in vivo. In our work, nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) and gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) are selected as luminescent nanomaterials and the Au NCs/N- CDs nanohybrids is successfully synthesized by coupling method. The Au NCs/N-CDs exhibited characteristic dual-emission peaks at 450 and 620 nm when excited by a single-wavelength of 380 nm. When different amounts of Cu2+ are introduced, the fluorescence intensity of the Au NCs is gradually weakened and fluorescence intensity of the N-CDs is almost unchanged, which can facilitate the visual detection of Cu2+. The Au NCs/N-CDs nanohybrid possesses good selectivity to Cu2+ with a limit of detection (LOD) is 3.5 μM and linear detection range of 10–150 μM. Visualization detection of Cu2+ is implemented by using nanoprobe in water samples. Furthermore, the ratiometric nanoprobe is utilized to the toxicity test of liver cancer cells, indicating excellent biocompatibility and low toxicity. This nanoprobe has been used to the intracellular fluorescence imaging. Moreover, this method is expected to be used to monitor the changes of Cu2+ concentration in hepatocytes.