Smart sensing of bacterial contamination on fluorescent cotton fabrics (FCF) by nontoxic Eu3+-induced polyelectrolyte nano-aggregates (EIPAs)

Novel non-toxic Eu 3+ -induced polyelectrolyte nano-aggregates (EIPAs) are used as a light-emitting nanomaterial to sense bacteria on the surface of cotton fabric. EIPAs are formed through coordination interaction between Eu 3+ (tta) 3 phen complexes with positive charges and polyanionic hyaluronic acid (HA) with negative charges, and EIPAs were chemically bonded onto cotton fabrics through pentaerythritol (PER) crosslinking. Based on this innovation, the obtained fluorescence cotton fabrics (FCF) have a wide excitation spectrum , intense emission spectrum, and long fluorescence lifetime , which makes the fabric fluorescence stable and bright. These EIPAs and their photophysical properties impart FCF with the ability to report both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli . Furthermore, FCF has antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus . Therefore, this new FCF integrates the advantages of superior lanthanide fluorescence, non-cytotoxicity, antibacterial activity, wearable and smart sensing.