Aggregation-induced photoluminescence enhancement of protamine-templated gold nanoclusters for 1-hydroxypyrene detection using 9-hydroxyphenanthrene as a sensitizer

In this study, we confirmed that protamine-templated gold nanoclusters (PRT-AuNCs) exhibit aggregation-induced emission properties (AIE-PRT-AuNCs). 1-Hydroxypyrene (1−OHPy) further induced the aggregation of AIE-PRT-AuNCs via hydrogen bonding and electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions, resulting in the aggregation-induced photoluminescence enhancement of AIE-PRT-AuNCs. 9-Hydroxyphenanthrene was able to decrease the background signal, thus increasing the sensitivity of the method. Based on these findings, a cost-effective, highly sensitive and selective strategy was proposed for the quantitative detection of 1−OHPy. This method displayed a wide linear range of 0.924 – 74.1 nmol/L with a low detection limit of 0.277 nmol/L, showing great potential for the monitoring of 1−OHPy in human urine. This strategy may provide a theoretical basis for future studies of the AIE properties of metal nanoclusters and their applications in the field of chemical and biological sensing.