Luminescent silver nanoclusters for efficient detection of adenosine triphosphate in a wide range of pH values

In this work, polymethacrylic acid (PMAA)-templated silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs) were developed as the fluorescent probe for the efficient and sensitive detection of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in a wide range of pH values. The fluorescence intensity of the Ag NCs could keep stable with pH values ranging from 2.5 to 9.3. The detection of ATP was based on the quenching of the fluorescent Ag NCs in the presence of ATP. The fluorescence quenching of the Ag NCs with increasing ATP concentration was studied at pH 2.5, 4.5, 7.0 and 8.5 which involved a wide pH environment in body fluids. The limit of detection (LOD) for ATP was as low as 0.1 mmol/L in an acidic environment with pH of 2.5 and all the linear correlation coefficients were satisfactory under wide-span pH values from 2.5 to 8.5. In addition, the sensitive determination of ATP was also achieved by adding copper ions (Cu²⁺). The high selectivity and rapid detection process proved that the fluorescent probe had great potential to detect ATP in biological samples under different pH conditions.