Selective determination of silver metal ion using polyamine-based ratiometric chemosensor in an aqueous medium and its real-time applicability as a silver sink

Abstract

Despite its antibacterial activity, silver also posses potential threats to the environment and human health. An excess of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) released from various sources may enter the environment and have adverse effects on microbial communities. Therefore detection of free silver becomes an important task especially in aqueous medium. In this work, we have synthesized polyamine-based ratiometric silver sensor 3. In order to evaluate the activity of 3 in aqueous medium, it was processed into organic nanoparticles using re-precipitation method. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized using techniques like dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The detection limit of this sensor is determined to be 2 nM. Silver sink effect of the synthesized probe has also been determined using E. coli as a bacterial probe.