Biocompatible Folic-Acid-Strengthened Ag–Ir Quantum Dot Nanozyme for Cell and Plant Root Imaging of Cysteine/Stress and Multichannel Monitoring of Hg²⁺ and Dopamine

Abstract

To boost the enzyme-like activity, biological compatibility, and antiaggregation effect of noble-metal-based nanozymes, folic-acid-strengthened Ag−Ir quantum dots (FA@ Ag−Ir QDs) were developed. Not only did FA@Ag−Ir QDs exhibit excellent synergistic-enhancement peroxidase-like activity, high stability, and low toxicity, but they could also promote the lateral root propagation of Arabidopsis thaliana. Especially, ultratrace cysteine or Hg 2+ could exclusively strengthen or deteriorate the inherent fluorescence property with an obvious "turn-on" or "turn-off" effect, and dopamine could alter the peroxidase-like activity with a clear hypochromic effect from blue to colorless. Under optimized conditions, FA@Ag−Ir QDs were successfully applied for the turn-on fluorescence imaging of cysteine or the stress response in cells and plant roots, the turn-off fluorescence monitoring of toxic Hg 2+ , or the visual detection of dopamine in aqueous, beverage, serum, or medical samples with low detection limits and satisfactory recoveries. The selective recognition mechanisms for FA@Ag−Ir QDs toward cysteine, Hg 2+ , and dopamine were illustrated. This work will offer insights into constructing some efficient nanozyme sensors for multichannel environmental analyses, especially for the prediagnosis of cysteinerelated diseases or stress responses in organisms.