Sensitive detection of molybdenum through its catalysis and quenching of gold nanocluster fluorescence

Molybdenum (Mo) is an essential nutrient for the proper functioning of some enzymes in living organisms as human beings. Conventional methods for its detection require complicated instrumentations as atomic absorption or mass spectrometers. In this work, a sensitive kinetic fluorescence was developed as an alternative. Gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) with red fluorescence emission were synthesized, and this fluorescence was effectively quenched by iodine through an etching process. It was found that the presence of Mo significantly speeded up a reaction for the generation of iodine, and thus enhanced the quenching. This effect was then adopted for the development of a sensitive fluorescent measurement toward Mo. The method was capable of detecting Mo down to 0.2 nM and was successfully applied for the analyses of mung bean and tea leaf samples.