Recently, bright quantum dots (QDs) possessing low energy for excitation and long fluorescence lifetime in milliseconds have been reported. These QDs such as Mn doped I(II)-III-VI nanocrystals are promising for highly sensitive time-gated sensing applications with a portable or small benchtop “personal” instrument because their unique optical properties not only ensure a high signal-to-background ratio in time-gated fluorescence-intensity (TGFI) measurement but also significantly simplify the TGFI measurement instrument design criteria. In this work, following up the research progress on these QDs, we developed a compact TGFI measurement instrument with high sensitivity and cost-effectiveness for these QDs (more specifically Mn:AZIS/ZnS QDs) as signal reporters. We applied the instrument for sensitive detection of copper(ii) ions in highly autofluorescent rum (alcoholic beverage) in a fluorescence quenching assay utilizing these QDs for signal transduction. The results from this work suggest that this instrument together with bright QDs with low-energy for excitation and long fluorescence lifetimes should have potential to not only convert many regular (non-time-gated) QD-based fluorescence assays to time-gated assays for higher sensitivities or lower LODs, but also facilitate the development of highly sensitive assays for in-field or point-of-care testing.
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