Free-standing liposomal nanohybrid cerasomes as ideal materials for sensing of cupric ions Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental methods. See DOI: 10.1039/c2an00037g

Super-stable and free-standing cerasomes with inorganic polyorganosiloxane surfaces were developed for the sensing of Cu 2+ by encapsulating Nile red (NR) dye as a fluorescence reporter. 1,2-Dimynistoyl- sn-glycero -3-phosphatidylethanolamine (DMPE) was incorporated into the cerasomes to serve as the chelating agent for cupric ions. The intraparticle energy transfer from NR to Cu 2+ caused the fluorescence quenching of NR, showing the prospect of these cerasomes as a fluorescence turn-off sensor for the detection of trace copper ions. Schematic illustration of preparation of Nile red-loaded nanohybrid liposomal cerasomes for cupric ion selective recognition.