Highly selective and sensitive detection of heparin based on competition-modulated assembly and disassembly of fluorescent gold nanoclustersElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nj03155b

• Main Authors: Li, Sha, Huang, Pengcheng, Wu, Fangying
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 16.01.2017
• ISSN: 1144-0546; 1369-9261
• DOI: 10.1039/c6nj03155b

We report a facile yet effective strategy for the fluorescence assay of heparin based on assembly and disassembly of the glutathione-protected gold nanoclusters (GSH-Au NCs) modulated via the competitive interaction of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) with heparin and GSH. Firstly, CTAB can increase the fluorescence of Au NCs by forming a nanocomposite via electrostatic and hydrophobic self-assembly. By adding heparin to the assay, CTAB is removed from the nanocomposites because of its higher affinity for heparin, quenching the fluorescence signal. Such a fluorescence feature induced via assembly and disassembly of the NCs enables our assay to possess high selectivity and sensitivity. The linear response toward heparin was obtained over the range 0.1-1.6 μg mL −1 with a low detection limit of 0.075 μg mL −1 . Furthermore, satisfactory sensing perfomance for heparin in human serum makes this method hold great promise in heparin-related biomedical applications. A simple and economical fluorescence assay for heparin using glutathione-protected gold nanoclusters via competitive binding was developed.