title: Citrate-induced aggregation of conjugated polyelectrolytes for Al(3+)-ion-sensing assays.
abstract: This work shows the sodium citrate induced efficient interpolymer π-stacking aggregation of the planar cationic conjugated polyelectrolyte poly[{9,9-bis[6'-(N,N-trimethylamino)hexyl]-2,7-fluorenyleneethynylene}-alt-co-(1,4-phenylene)] dibromide (PFE) in aqueous solution, which results in the self-quenching of fluorescence. Using the citrate-induced aggregation properties of PFE and the strong chelation ability of citrate with aluminum ions (Al(3+)), a sensitive and selective Al(3+)-ion detection assay in aqueous solution was developed through monitoring of the fluorescence recovery of PFE. The fluorescence intensity recovery of PFE depends on the concentration of Al(3+) ions, and linear fluorescence recovery was observed in the range of 0.5-9 μM. The limit of detection of this assay is 0.37 μM. Its simplicity and rapidity mean this assay shows promise for the real-time detection of Al(3+).
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Rongjian
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Xiaoyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Lidong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000535:Aluminum / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002412:Cations / Q000737:chemistry; D002951:Citrates / Q000737:chemistry*; D003510:Cyclohexanes / Q000737:chemistry; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000737:chemistry; D007477:Ions; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D000077559:Sodium Citrate; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D002951:Citrates; D003510:Cyclohexanes; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D007477:Ions; D011108:Polymers; D014867:Water; D000077559:Sodium Citrate; C080421:perfluoroethylcyclohexane; D000535:Aluminum