Si, N-codoped carbon dots: preparation and application in iron overload diagnosis

Heteroatom doping is a straightforward and smart strategy to improve the fluorescence efficiency of carbon dots (CDs). We synthesized the Si, N-codoped CDs (SiNCDs) with high quantum yield up to 29.7% through one-step hydrothermal method. The linear range for Fe3+ was between 0 and 200 μM, and the limit of detection was about 5 μM, which presented potential for Fe quantification in serum to diagnose Fe overload. In addition, the SiNCDs demonstrated good selectivity to Fe3+ among high concentrations of metal ions, amino acids and H2O2, so there is no need to mix additional reagents as the colorimetric method does in clinic, making SiNCDs more competitive in clinical application. Furthermore, we explored the practicability of SiNCDs by detecting Fe in serum from five healthy volunteers and three patients suffering Fe overload. The recovery rate was from 87.1 to 113.6%, which confirmed the application prospect of SiNCDs in clinical diagnostics.

[1]  K. J. Schmidt,et al.  An immunoradiometric assay for ferritin in the serum of normal subjects and patients with iron deficiency and iron overload , 1972, Journal of clinical pathology.

[2]  Hui Feng,et al.  Highly luminescent N-doped carbon quantum dots as an effective multifunctional fluorescence sensing platform. , 2014, Chemistry.

[3]  Y. Niitsu,et al.  Serum transferrin receptor as a new index of erythropoiesis. , 1987, Blood.

[4]  R. Lill,et al.  Eukaryotic DNA polymerases require an iron-sulfur cluster for the formation of active complexes , 2011, Nature chemical biology.

[5]  J. Falandysz,et al.  ICP/MS and ICP/AES elemental analysis (38 elements) of edible wild mushrooms growing in Poland , 2001, Food additives and contaminants.

[6]  Jianrong Chen,et al.  Si-doped carbon quantum dots: a facile and general preparation strategy, bioimaging application, and multifunctional sensor. , 2014, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[7]  Narinder Singh,et al.  Carbon Dot Based, Naphthalimide Coupled FRET Pair for Highly Selective Ratiometric Detection of Thioredoxin Reductase and Cancer Screening. , 2017, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[8]  Y. Niitsu,et al.  Serum transferrin receptor as a new index of erythropoiesis , 1987 .

[9]  Jin Zhou,et al.  Carbon dots doped with heteroatoms for fluorescent bioimaging: a review , 2017, Microchimica Acta.

[10]  R. C. King,et al.  Handbook of X Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy: A Reference Book of Standard Spectra for Identification and Interpretation of Xps Data , 1995 .

[11]  F. Ceriotti,et al.  Improved direct specific determination of serum iron and total iron-binding capacity. , 1980, Clinical chemistry.

[12]  P Carter,et al.  Spectrophotometric determination of serum iron at the submicrogram level with a new reagent (ferrozine). , 1971, Analytical biochemistry.

[13]  Zhaochao Xu,et al.  Fluorescence imaging of metal ions implicated in diseases. , 2015, Chemical Society reviews.

[14]  H. Zeng,et al.  CsPbX3 Quantum Dots for Lighting and Displays: Room‐Temperature Synthesis, Photoluminescence Superiorities, Underlying Origins and White Light‐Emitting Diodes , 2016 .

[15]  T. Ganz,et al.  Ironing out Ferroportin. , 2015, Cell metabolism.

[16]  J. Cristol,et al.  Determination of serum ferritin using immunoturbidimetry or chemiluminescent detection in comparison with radioimmunoassay a compendium of a methodological juxtaposition. , 2009, Clinical laboratory.

[17]  S. Nie,et al.  Quantum dot bioconjugates for ultrasensitive nonisotopic detection. , 1998, Science.

[18]  F. Torti,et al.  Iron and cancer: more ore to be mined , 2013, Nature Reviews Cancer.

[19]  S. Sherlock,et al.  Serum ferritin in patients with iron overload and with acute and chronic liver diseases. , 1975, Gastroenterology.

[20]  F. Mérola,et al.  Self-Assembled Gold Nanoclusters for Bright Fluorescence Imaging and Enhanced Drug Delivery. , 2016, ACS nano.

[21]  D. Forman,et al.  Immunoradiometric serum ferritin concentration compared with stainable bone-marrow iron as indices to iron stores. , 1980, Clinical chemistry.

[22]  Xiaogang Qu,et al.  Carbon dots prepared by hydrothermal treatment of dopamine as an effective fluorescent sensing platform for the label-free detection of iron(III) ions and dopamine. , 2013, Chemistry.

[23]  Samir A. Belhout,et al.  Recent developments in carbon nanomaterial sensors. , 2015, Chemical Society reviews.

[24]  Shulin Zhao,et al.  Unique Approach To Develop Carbon Dot-Based Nanohybrid Near-Infrared Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensor for the Detection of Mercury Ions. , 2017, Analytical chemistry.

[25]  Zhiqin Yuan,et al.  Rapid Screening of Oxygen States in Carbon Quantum Dots by Chemiluminescence Probe. , 2017, Analytical chemistry.

[26]  B. Graubard,et al.  Moderate elevation of body iron level and increased risk of cancer occurrence and death , 1994, International journal of cancer.

[27]  Yuhui Wang,et al.  Bright-Yellow-Emissive N-Doped Carbon Dots: Preparation, Cellular Imaging, and Bifunctional Sensing. , 2015, ACS applied materials & interfaces.