Herein,
a fluorescent nanosensor based on carbon dots (Cdots) and
different-size MnO2 nanospheres has been synthesized for
rapid detection of glutathione (GSH). Water-soluble and highly fluorescent
Cdots were prepared by the microwave method using ascorbic acid as
the precursor. MnO2 nanospheres of different sizes (large,
medium, and small) were prepared by varying the concentration ratio
of methionine and KMnO4 at room temperature, which was
confirmed by HRTEM analysis. The different sizes of MnO2 nanospheres in Cdots result in quenching of the fluorescence intensity,
quantum yields, and average lifetime values, which suggest that the
fluorescence resonance energy transfer mechanism occurs between the
Cdots and MnO2 nanospheres. The variations of all the photophysical
parameters and fluorescence turn off properties of Cdots are significantly
tuned depending on the size of the nanospheres. Moreover, detection
of GSH in the presence of different-size Cdots@MnO2 systems
has been explored. GSH causes the redox reaction in the presence of
MnO2, which leads to transformation from MnO2 to Mn2+. As a result, fluorescence restoration (turn
on) of Cdots was observed. The large MnO2 nanospheres showed
the lowest detection limit of 15 μM for GSH. The synthesized
sensing system was very fast, simple, economical, and environmentally-friendly
for the detection of the GSH level.