l‑Cysteine-Modified Gold Nanostars for SERS-Based Copper Ions Detection in Aqueous Media
- Publication date
- 2014
- Publisher
Abstract
Gold nanostars coated with cysteine
(Cys-AuNSs) were successfully synthesized and used in SERS-based copper
ions (Cu<sup>2+</sup>) detection in aqueous media. The strong coordination
ability of cysteine (Cys) with Cu<sup>2+</sup> and the resulting Cys-AuNSs-Cu
complex formation led to AuNSs aggregation and the drastic change
in intensity and strength of COOH band spectra. The aggregation of
AuNSs yielded distinct SERS signals, which exhibited remarkable sensitivity
and selectivity for Cu<sup>2+</sup> over other metal ions. Using this
SERS-based sensing method, we have achieved a practical detection
limit of 10 μM. Such AuNSs-based detection could provide promising
alternative choices for future SERS-active AuNSs application