Highly photoluminescent carbon dots-based fluorescent chemosensors for sensitive and selective detection of mercury ions and application of imaging in living cells

Abstract Based on two kinds of hetero atom doping carbon dots (CD-1, CD-2) with brilliant fluorescent quantum yield and other fluorescence properties, two new sensors were prepared and characterized as novel fluorescent probes for detecting mercury ions in pure aqueous solution with a broad pH. Mercury ions can be captured by the carboxyl groups of these two kinds of carbon dots to form nonfluorescent complexes, resulting in a strong quenching. It suggested that both CD-1 and CD-2 exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity toward mercury ions: the linear ranges of CD-1 and CD-2 were estimated to be 1–12 μM and 1–15 μM while the limit of detection (LOD) was calculated to be 226 nM and 845 nM, respectively. Furthermore, these two kinds of CDs were applied to intracellular sensing and imaging of mercury ions as a consequence of the fluorescence properties and the established low cytotoxicity.

[1]  Chun-Wei Chen,et al.  Blue photoluminescence from chemically derived graphene oxide. , 2010, Advanced materials.

[2]  M. Willinger,et al.  A one-pot hydrothermal synthesis of sulfur and nitrogen doped carbon aerogels with enhanced electrocatalytic activity in the oxygen reduction reaction , 2012 .

[3]  Zheng Xie,et al.  Highly Luminescent Organosilane‐Functionalized Carbon Dots , 2011 .

[4]  Elizabeth M. Nolan,et al.  Tools and tactics for the optical detection of mercuric ion. , 2008, Chemical reviews.

[5]  Ya‐Ping Sun,et al.  Toward quantitatively fluorescent carbon-based "quantum" dots. , 2011, Nanoscale.

[6]  S. Yu,et al.  Observation of Lasing Emission from Carbon Nanodots in Organic Solvents , 2012, Advanced materials.

[7]  Elizabeth M. Nolan,et al.  MS4, a seminaphthofluorescein-based chemosensor for the ratiometric detection of Hg(II) , 2005 .

[8]  Ya‐Ping Sun,et al.  Carbon nanoparticles as visible-light photocatalysts for efficient CO2 conversion and beyond. , 2011, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[9]  Abdullah M. Asiri,et al.  Microwave-assisted rapid green synthesis of photoluminescent carbon nanodots from flour and their applications for sensitive and selective detection of mercury(II) ions , 2013 .

[10]  Yang Chen,et al.  Detection of mercury ions (Hg2+) in urine using a terbium chelate fluorescent probe , 2011 .

[11]  M. Jaroniec,et al.  Sulfur and nitrogen dual-doped mesoporous graphene electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction with synergistically enhanced performance. , 2012, Angewandte Chemie.

[12]  Félix Sancenón,et al.  Chromogenic and fluorogenic chemosensors and reagents for anions. A comprehensive review of the years 2010-2011. , 2011, Chemical Society reviews.

[13]  Li Cao,et al.  Photoluminescence properties of graphene versus other carbon nanomaterials. , 2013, Accounts of chemical research.

[14]  Z. Su,et al.  Fluorescent Gold Nanoprobes for the Sensitive and Selective Detection for Hg2+ , 2010, Nanoscale research letters.

[15]  Yong-hua Chen,et al.  White light-emitting devices based on carbon dots' electroluminescence. , 2011, Chemical communications.

[16]  N. Jana,et al.  Fluorescent Carbon Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, and Bioimaging Application , 2009 .

[17]  H. Katerinopoulos,et al.  A "turn-on" coumarin-based fluorescent sensor with high selectivity for mercury ions in aqueous media. , 2010, Chemical communications.

[18]  Fang Zeng,et al.  Carbon dots-based fluorescent probes for sensitive and selective detection of iodide , 2013, Microchimica Acta.

[19]  Guonan Chen,et al.  Polyamine-functionalized carbon quantum dots as fluorescent probes for selective and sensitive detection of copper ions. , 2012, Analytical chemistry.

[20]  Jun Lin,et al.  Defect-related luminescent materials: synthesis, emission properties and applications. , 2012, Chemical Society reviews.

[21]  Xingyu Jiang,et al.  Hydrothermal synthesis of highly fluorescent carbon nanoparticles from sodium citrate and their use for the detection of mercury ions , 2013 .

[22]  Ya‐Ping Sun,et al.  Bandgap-like strong fluorescence in functionalized carbon nanoparticles. , 2010, Angewandte Chemie.

[23]  U. Bunz,et al.  Modulating the sensory response of a conjugated polymer by proteins: an agglutination assay for mercury ions in water. , 2006, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[24]  Ya‐Ping Sun,et al.  Carbon dots for multiphoton bioimaging. , 2007, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[25]  Stephen J Lippard,et al.  A "turn-on" fluorescent sensor for the selective detection of mercuric ion in aqueous media. , 2003, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[26]  Yi Lu,et al.  Lysozyme-stabilized gold fluorescent cluster: Synthesis and application as Hg(2+) sensor. , 2010, The Analyst.

[27]  Norio Murase,et al.  Nanomaterials formulations for photothermal and photodynamic therapy of cancer , 2013 .

[28]  Ya‐Ping Sun,et al.  Doped Carbon Nanoparticles as a New Platform for Highly Photoluminescent Dots. , 2008, The journal of physical chemistry. C, Nanomaterials and interfaces.

[29]  Juyoung Yoon,et al.  A selenolactone-based fluorescent chemodosimeter to monitor mecury/methylmercury species in vitro and in vivo , 2010 .

[30]  C. M. Li,et al.  Carbon-based dots co-doped with nitrogen and sulfur for high quantum yield and excitation-independent emission. , 2013, Angewandte Chemie.

[31]  Juyoung Yoon,et al.  Fluorescent and colorimetric sensors for detection of lead, cadmium, and mercury ions. , 2012, Chemical Society reviews.

[32]  J. C. D. Silva,et al.  Analytical and bioanalytical applications of carbon dots , 2011 .

[33]  K. Al‐Jamal,et al.  Therapeutics, imaging and toxicity of nanomaterials in the central nervous system. , 2012, Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society.

[34]  G. Shen,et al.  A highly selective fluorescent probe for Hg(2+) based on a rhodamine-coumarin conjugate. , 2010, Analytica chimica acta.

[35]  Sudip Barman,et al.  Facile bulk production of highly blue fluorescent graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots and their application as highly selective and sensitive sensors for the detection of mercuric and iodide ions in aqueous media , 2012 .

[36]  Z. Rosenzweig,et al.  Luminescent CdS quantum dots as selective ion probes. , 2002, Analytical chemistry.

[37]  Zhenhui Kang,et al.  Carbon nanodots: synthesis, properties and applications , 2012 .

[38]  Zhi‐ying Zhang,et al.  Synthesis of highly luminescent graphitized carbon dots and the application in the Hg2+ detection , 2012 .

[39]  Ronghua Yang,et al.  Gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric and "turn-on" fluorescent probe for mercury(II) ions in aqueous solution. , 2008, Analytical chemistry.

[40]  L. Qu,et al.  An Electrochemical Avenue to Green‐Luminescent Graphene Quantum Dots as Potential Electron‐Acceptors for Photovoltaics , 2011, Advanced materials.

[41]  W. Tseng,et al.  Ultrasensitive sensing of Hg(2+) and CH(3)Hg(+) based on the fluorescence quenching of lysozyme type VI-stabilized gold nanoclusters. , 2010, Analytical chemistry.

[42]  Jackie Y Ying,et al.  Ultrasensitive Pb2+ detection by glutathione-capped quantum dots. , 2007, Analytical chemistry.

[43]  Xiaoyun Qin,et al.  Hydrothermal Treatment of Grass: A Low‐Cost, Green Route to Nitrogen‐Doped, Carbon‐Rich, Photoluminescent Polymer Nanodots as an Effective Fluorescent Sensing Platform for Label‐Free Detection of Cu(II) Ions , 2012, Advanced materials.

[44]  Xiaogang Qu,et al.  Sensing metal ions with ion selectivity of a crown ether and fluorescence resonance energy transfer between carbon dots and graphene. , 2012, Chemical communications.

[45]  W. Jin,et al.  Surface-modified CdSe quantum dots for the sensitive and selective determination of Cu(II) in aqueous solutions by luminescent measurements , 2005 .

[46]  J. Qin,et al.  A new rhodamine-based colorimetric cyanide chemosensor: convenient detecting procedure and high sensitivity and selectivity. , 2009, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[47]  Fenghua Li,et al.  Efficient one-pot synthesis of molecularly imprinted silica nanospheres embedded carbon dots for fluorescent dopamine optosensing. , 2012, Biosensors & bioelectronics.

[48]  Jinhuai Liu,et al.  Highly sensitive SERS detection of Hg2+ ions in aqueous media using gold nanoparticles/graphene heterojunctions. , 2013, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[49]  Peter Gölitz,et al.  Cover Picture: Champagne and Fireworks: Angewandte Chemie Celebrates Its Birthday (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 1/2013) , 2013 .

[50]  Zhen Gu,et al.  Detection of mercury ion by infrared fluorescent protein and its hydrogel-based paper assay. , 2011, Analytical chemistry.

[51]  S. Ng,et al.  Synthesis of fluorescent carbon dots via simple acid hydrolysis of bovine serum albumin and its potential as sensitive sensing probe for lead (II) ions. , 2013, Talanta.

[52]  Bai Yang,et al.  Highly photoluminescent carbon dots for multicolor patterning, sensors, and bioimaging. , 2013, Angewandte Chemie.