DNA-templated gold nanocluster as a novel fluorometric sensor for glutathione determination

Abstract A novel fluorescent method has been developed for simple and high sensitive detection of glutathione (GSH) based on the DNA-templated gold nanoclusters (AuNCs@C 30 ), and AuNCs@C 30 can be used as a fluorescence “turn-off” sensor for GSH without further modification. The detection system showed an obvious fluorescence quenching with the addition of GSH and a good linear range from 0 to 0.1 μmol/L, and the limit of detection (LOD) of glutathione was 0.018 μmol/L. The preliminary mechanism investigation of GSH determination was proposed, which was mainly caused by the collisional (dynamic) quenching. It was expected that DNA-templated gold nanoclusters may offer a new approach for developing simple, rapid and sensitive sensors in biological detection.