Heavy metal contamination remains a critical environmental and public health concern due to its enduring presence, bioaccumulation in living organisms, and inherent toxicity. Traditional detection methods often struggle with complex sample preparation, high costs, and lengthy analysis times. In contrast, fluorescence-based sensing offers a promising avenue for rapid, sensitive, and real-time heavy metal monitoring. This study will explore and demonstrate novel applications of fluorescence-based techniques, with a specific focus on developing and implementing GUMBOS sensors and fluorescent sensor arrays to achieve significant improvements in heavy metal detection, discrimination and quantification.
