Chitosan based fluorescent probe with AIE property for detection of Fe3+ and bacteria

Fluorescent probe with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property has been widely used because of the advantages of high sensitivity, good selectivity and non-destructive testing. The development of fluorescent probe with good biocompatibility, photostability and biodegradability is of great significance in biomedicine and environmental detection. Herein, a novel type of fluorophore CS-TPE for detection of Fe3+ and bacteria was prepared by the Schiff base reaction of chitosan (CS) and 4-(1,2,2-triphenylethenyl) benzaldehyde (TPE-CHO). The fluorescence response mechanism of CS-TPE system was investigated by various characterization techniques. CS-TPE had an obvious AIE behavior with strong blue-green emissions at 473 nm and reaches the highest photoluminescence (PL) emission in 90 % H2O/ethanol mixtures. CS-TPE fluorescent probe exhibited sensitive quenching response to Fe3+, which can be used as a biosensor for detecting the concentration of Fe3+ with short response time (5 min), low detection limit (0.998 μM) and wide detection range (10–300 μM). Meanwhile, CS-TPE exhibited good antibacterial performance for S. aureus and E. coli. It is expected to realize the real-time fluorescence monitoring of metal ion detection and antibacterial process. [Display omitted] •A novel fluorescent probe CS-TPE for detection of Fe3+ and bacteria was prepared.•The detection limit was 0.998 μM for Fe3+ in the range of 10–300 μM.•It was applied to detecting Fe3+ in spiked samples with RSD