One-pot hydrothermal synthesis of Si-doped carbon quantum dots with up-conversion fluorescence as fluorescent probes for dual-readout detection of berberine hydrochloride.

Here, the high fluorescent silicon-doped carbon quantum dots (Si-CQDs) were prepared by a facile and one-pot hydrothermal assay using 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane as the carbon and silicon source. The prepared Si-CQDs exhibit favorable water-soluble, high-temperature resistance, acid resistance, alkali resistance, high ionic strength resistance, high photostability, film-forming ability and solid-state fluorescence. Compared to other Si-CQDs that have been reported, the prepared Si-CQDs show unique up-conversion fluorescence. Furthermore, it is found that berberine hydrochloride (BH) can effectively quench the down- and up-conversion fluorescence of the Si-CQDs, making it can be used as a highly sensitive and specific probe for BH dual-mode sensing. Meanwhile, the linear range of down-conversion fluorescence detection for BH is 0.5-30.0 µmol/L with a limit of detection (LOD) of 50 nmol/L, and the linear range of up-conversion fluorescence assay for BH is 0-25.0 µmol/L. The mechanism of down-conversion fluorescence quenching by BH was investigated through a series of studies. The results show the quenching mechanism is the inner filter effect (IFE). Moreover, this proposed strategy has been well used to analyze BH in urine samples with satisfactory results.

One-Pot Hydrothermal Synthesis of Carbon Dots with Efficient Up- and Down-Converted Photoluminescence for the Sensitive Detection of Morin in a Dual-Readout Assay.

Blue luminescent carbon dots (CDs) with a high photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (48.3 ± 5.3%) were prepared by the one-pot hydrothermal reaction of citric acid with poly(ethylenimine) (PEI). The CDs display bright PL, narrow emission spectra, pH-dependent PL intensity, high photostability, and up-converted luminescence. The CDs exhibit a quenching of both down- and up-conversion PL in the presence of morin and thus serve as useful probes for morin detection. Both down- and up-conversion measurements allow the quantification of concentrations from 0 to 300 µmol/L with a detection limit of 0.6 µmol/L, and this dual-mode detection increases the reliability of the measurement. The proposed method of determination is simple, sensitive, and cost-effective, with potential applications in clinical and biochemical assays.

High Sensitive and Selective Detection of PFOS with Resonance Light Scattering Technology Based on the Interaction with Victoria Blue B.

This report presents a simple, sensitive and selective victoria blue B (VBB)-based resonance light scattering (RLS) assay of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). In pH 6.0 KH2PO4-NaOH buffer solution, VBB can be protonated and reacts with PFOS through electrostatic interactions to produce ionic-association complexes. Simultaneously, the interaction leads to enhanced resonance light scattering intensities greatly, which are characterized with a peak at 277 nm. It is found that the enhanced RLS intensity is proportional to the concentration of PFOS in a range of 0.05 to 4.0 µmol·L-1. The limit of detection is 5.0 nmol·L-1. While, under the optimal experimental conditions, almost no change of the resonance light scattering intensity was observed between VBB and perfluorooctane acid (PFOA) which is one kind of representative perfluorinated compounds (PFCs). The excellent selectivity of PFOS could be due to the hydrophobicity of PFOS higher than PFOA. It is worth noting that the proposed method is capable of differentiating PFOS and some other PFCs. UV/Vis absorption spectrum and scanning electron microscope (SEM) image both were investigated to further validate the reaction mechanism. The interference of coexisting foreign substances and the optimum tests of reaction conditions, including pH value, reaction time, experimental temperature and ionic strength, were also investigated. This method has been successfully applied to the determination of PFOS in environmental water samples with RSD ≤1.74%. The experimental process as followed: In 2 mL colorimetric tube, 200 µL pH 6.0 KH2PO4-NaOH buffer solution, followed by adding 600 µL 20 µmol·L-1 VBB solution, swirl evenly, then add the right amount of PFOS solution. After vortex mixing with ultrapure water volume to 2 mL, swirl to mix, stand for 10 min at room temperature. Then the mixture was transferred for RLS measurements and absorption measurement.