Luminescent Carbon Nanoclusters for Sensitive Detection of Ascorbic Acid and Fluorescent Printing

Abstract

Carbon nanoclusters (CNCs) is a kind of carbon-based luminescent nanomaterial between macromolecular substances and carbon quantum dots, which is a valuable potential probe for fluorescence sensing and biological imaging. Herein, a mild and fast contact route was established for synthesis of CNCs with strong green fluorescence at 516 nm. The method involves direct mixing of polyethyleneimine (PEI) solution with ascorbic acid (AA) at room temperature without any energy and time consumption. The CNCs were formed once PEI and AA solutions came into contact, which could be used to detect the presence of AA. The fluorescence intensity of the as-prepared CNCs was also quantitatively enhanced with the increase of AA. Therefore, a fluorescence “turn-on” method was developed for the sensitive detection of AA based on the formation of the CNCs in a linear range from 0.5 to 100 μM with a low limit of detection of 0.15 μM. This method was also successfully employed to detect AA in real samples of human plasma and cherry tomato with recoveries ranging from 97 to 105%. Due to the excellent fluorescence property and low toxicity of the as-prepared CNCs, they were also applied as a bright fluorescent ink for fluorescent printing.

A Water‐Stable Europium Metal‐Organic Framework as a Turn‐Off Fluorescence Sensor for Ascorbic Acid Detection in Human Serum

“…Compared to those reported AA fluorescence sensors (Table 1), the sensitive Eu‐NDBC with LOD of 4.53 μM is lower than or comparable to those μM‐level LODs, such as bovine serum albumin (6 μM), [32] terbium(III) chelating with 1,10‐phenanthroline (74 μM), [33] CD‐Fe 3+ (5 μM), [34] CsPbBr 3 /BSA NCs (28 μM), [35] CD‐QD@SiO 2 (3.17 μM), [36] Cel‐Au NCs (2.5 μM), [37] RhB@Tb‐MOFs (2.54 μM) [38] and NF CDs (4.22 μM) [39] . However, LOD of 4.53 μM is higher than those nM‐level LODs, such as Cys‐Au NCs (2.43 nM), [40] ProN6 (77.9 nM), [41] CNCs (0.15 nM), [42] and MN‐CDs (0.03 μM) [43] . The nM‐level LODs appear in nanomaterials, including nanoclusters, carbon dots, and quantum dots.…”

Metal Nanoclusters in Point-of-Care Sensing and Biosensing Applications

“…The enzymatic properties of AuNCs arise first from their electrocatalytic activity, and second, their enzymatic reaction can change the sensing system’s emission properties. AuNCs have been reported to represent catalytic capability toward several analytes representing various enzyme mimetic features such as peroxidase, oxidase , and protease-like activity . A critical drawback of AuNCs, compared to natural enzymes, is their lower selectivity toward a specific analyte harnessing their applicability…”

Selective detection of ascorbic acid by tuning the composition and fluorescence of the cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals

“…Ascorbic acid (AA), commonly known as vitamin C, is one of the most essential nutrients in the human body. It plays a vital role in maintaining human health, such as free radical scavenging [1], antioxidant effects [2], immunity improvement [3], and cell development [4]. AA is an essential bioactive molecule that can only be obtained through diet in daily life.…”