Integrated Logic Gate for Fluorescence Turn-on Detection of Histidine and Cysteine Based on Ag/Au Bimetallic Nanoclusters–Cu2+ Ensemble

By means of employing 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (11-MUA) as a reducing agent and protecting ligand, we present straightforward one-pot preparation of fluorescent Ag/Au bimetallic nanoclusters (namely AgAuNCs@11-MUA) from AgNO3 and HAuCl4 in alkaline aqueous solution at room temperature. It is found that the fluorescence of AgAuNCs@11-MUA has been selectively quenched by Cu2+ ions, and the nonfluorescence off-state of the as-prepared AgAuNCs@11-MUA–Cu2+ ensemble can be effectively switched on upon the addition of histidine and cysteine. By incorporating Ni2+ ions and N-ethylmaleimide, this phenomenon is further exploited as an integrated logic gate and a specific fluorescence turn-on assay for selectively and sensitively sensing histidine and cysteine has been designed and established based on the original noncovalent AgAuNCs@11-MUA–Cu2+ ensemble. Under the optimal conditions, histidine and cysteine can be detected in the concentration ranges of 0.25–9 and 0.25–7 μM; besides, the detection limits are found to be 87 and 111 nM (S/N = 3), respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the proposed AgAuNCs@11-MUA-based fluorescent assay can be successfully utilized for biological fluids sample analysis.