Facile synthesis of N-acetyl-l-cysteine capped CdHgSe quantum dots and selective determination of hemoglobin

Using N -acetyl- l -cysteine (NAC) as a stabilizer, well water-dispersed, high-quality and stable CdHgSe quantum dots were facilely synthesized via a simple aqueous phase method. The as-prepared NAC capped CdHgSe quantum dots were thoroughly characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. A novel method for the selective determination of hemoglobin (Hb) was developed based on fluorescence quenching of the NAC capped CdHgSe quantum dots. A number of key factors including pH value of phosphate buffer solution, quantum dots concentration, the adding sequence of reagents and reaction time that influence the analytical performance of the NAC capped CdHgSe quantum dots in Hb determination were investigated. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the change of fluorescence intensity (Δ I ) was linearly proportional to the concentration of Hb in the range of 4.0   ×   10 −9 –4.4   ×   10 −7   mol   L −1 with a detection limit of 2.0   ×   10 −9   mol   L −1 . The developed method has been successfully employed to determine Hb in human urine samples.