Synthesis of a novel europium chelate doped Ag@SiO2 nanocomposite for fluorescence enhancement

In this study, a new europium chelate of 4,4″-Bis(4,4,5,5,6,6,6- heptafluoro-1,3-dioxohexyl)-oterphenyl- 4′-sulfonyl chloride-Eu 3+-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (BHHCT-Eu3+-DPPDA-APTMS) doped core-shell Ag@SiO2 nanocomposite was synthesized by a facile water-in-oil microemulsion method. The morphology, crystalline phase, composition and optical property of the nanocomposite were investigated with examining various influence facts on the fluorescent intensity of the nanocomposite. These influence facts include the volume of TEOS, concentrations of AgNO3 and europium chelate. After optimizing reaction conditions, the desired nanocomposite and maximal metal-enhanced fluorescence (4.5 folds) were obtained. The prepared nanocomposite exhibited intense fluorescence, uniform morphology, good water-solubility and monodispersity. It is expectable that the as-prepared nanocomposite is a potential fluorescent nanoprobe that can be applied in high sensitive biological and medical detections. Copyright © 2014 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved.