Issue 72, 2018

A fluorescent sensor constructed from nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots (N-CDs) for pH detection in synovial fluid and urea determination

Abstract

Blue luminescent nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots (N-CDs) with pH-dependent properties were prepared from citric acid (CA), glutathione (GSH), and polyethylene polyamine (PEPA) using a two-step pyrolytic route. The N-CDs showed stable and strong emission bands at approximately 455 nm under 350 nm excitation. Moreover, the fluorescence of N-CDs can be gradually decreased by gradually increasing the pH value. A good linear relationship between the fluorescence intensity of N-CDs and the pH range of 3.0–9.0 was obtained. Thus, the response mechanism of N-CDs to pH was systematically investigated. N-CDs possessed –NH2, –COOH, and –CONH– as active functional groups, which allowed the variable protonation/deprotonation of N-CDs to regulate the fluorescence emission intensities under changed pH values. Furthermore, upon combining urease-catalyzed hydrolysis of urea with increased pH values, a simple but effective fluorescence assay for urea was developed. The analytical performance for urea detection was the linear range of 0 to 10 mM with a detection limit of 0.072 mM. Additionally, the fluorescent sensor based on N-CDs was successfully applied for pH detection in synovial fluid and urea determination in serum.

Graphical abstract: A fluorescent sensor constructed from nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots (N-CDs) for pH detection in synovial fluid and urea determination

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 10 2018
Accepted
30 11 2018
First published
12 12 2018
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2018,8, 41432-41438

A fluorescent sensor constructed from nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots (N-CDs) for pH detection in synovial fluid and urea determination

M. Chen, W. Wu, Y. Chen, Q. Pan, Y. Chen, Z. Zheng, Y. Zheng, L. Huang and S. Weng, RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 41432 DOI: 10.1039/C8RA08406H

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