Rapid and selective trace determination of arsenic in rice samples by using functionalized conductive polymer dots as fluorescent probe with comparable results to ICP-MS analysis

Rice, a staple diet across most countries, has been identified as one of the significant sources of arsenic accu-mulation, which occasions public severe health issues. Therefore, developing a rapid method for the selective detection of arsenic in rice is of great importance. Toward this goal, in this paper, an application of a fluorescent probe constructed from functionalized conductive polymer dots (FCPDots) was performed to discriminate arsenic in rice samples. In the presence of arsenic, the intense emission of the FCPDots probe at 395 nm under an excitation wavelength of 334 nm substantially decreased because of the formation of the As_S linkage. The probe represented an outstanding performance toward arsenic at linear concentrations between 0.25 and 2.00 nM with an excellent detection limit of 0.107 nM. As a final step, ICP-Mass analysis confirmed that the probe is applicable and reliable to detect trace amounts of arsenic in real samples. Interestingly, the FCPDots probe was able to detect arsenic rapidly, accurately, and selectively in several rice samples despite the heavy metal ions interferences.