Picomolar detection of As(III) ions by using hydrothermal synthesis of functionalized polymer dots as a highly selective fluorescence sensor

Arsenic is a toxic and ubiquitous metalloid that leads to a widespread health risk to human beings and other living organisms. In this paper, a novel water-soluble fluorescent probe based on functionalized polypyrrole dots (FPPyDots) was designed and applied to determine As(III) selectively and sensitively in aqueous media. FPPyDots probe was synthesized by using a hydrothermal method, via the facile chemical polymerization of pyrrole (Py) and cysteamine (Cys) and then functionalized with ditheritheritol (DTT). To investigate the chemical compo-sition, morphology, and optical properties of the resultant fluorescence probe various characterization tech-niques including FTIR, EDC, TEM, Zeta potential, UV-vis, and fluorescence spectroscopies were used. The Stern-Volmer equation was used for calibration curves and show a negative deviation with the two linear concentration ranges of 270-2200 pM and 2.5-22.5 nM with an excellent limit of detection (LOD) of 110 pM. FPPyDots exhibit high selectivity to As(III) ions over various transition and heavy metal ions interferences. The performance of the probe has also been perused concerning the pH effect. Finally, to illustrate the applicability and reliability of the FPPyDots probe, the As(III) traces were identified in water real samples and compared with ICP-OES analysis.