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Green synthesis of carbon dots using the flowers of Osmanthus fragrans (Thunb.) Lour. as precursors: application in Fe3+ and ascorbic acid determination and cell imaging

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Abstract

In this work, dried flowers of Osmanthus fragrans Lour. were applied as green precursors to synthesize carbon dots (CDs) by a green hydrothermal method for the first time. The CDs showed strong blue fluorescence at 410 nm under 340-nm excitation with a quantum yield of approximately 18.53%. Furthermore, the CDs were applied for the sensitive detection of Fe3+. The linear response of Fe3+ ranged from 10 nM to 50 μM with a limit of detection as low as 5 nM. In addition, other ions were used as competitive substances to explore the selectivity of CDs for Fe3+. The fluorescence quenching effect of Fe3+ was much stronger, which demonstrated that the CDs had high selectivity for Fe3+ and they can be employed for the selective detection of Fe3+. The potential fluorescence quenching mechanism between CDs and Fe3+ was identified as the inner filter effect. The CDs were then used as a fluorescent sensor for the detection of Fe3+ in water samples and human serum; the recovery range was 93.76–113.80% (relative standard deviation less than 0.79%). These results indicate that the CDs can be applied for the sensitive and selective detection of Fe3+ in real samples. Moreover, on the basis of the redox reaction between Fe3+ and ascorbic acid (AA), the CD–Fe3+ system can be used as a fluorescent “off–on” sensor for the detection of AA with a limit of detection of 5 μM. What is more, because of their low toxicity and biocompatibility, the CDs can also be used for cell imaging and acted as a fluorescent probe for fluorescence imaging of Fe3+ and AA in living cells. These results demonstrate that the CDs have great potential for application in the fields of sensing, bioimaging, and even disease diagnosis.

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Funding

This work was supported by the university level fund of Southwest Medical University (no. 2017-ZRQN-032) and a joint program of Luzhou Government and Southwest Medical University [no. 2015LZCYD-S07(2/5)].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, Sichuan, China

    Min Wang, Yuyan Wan, Kailian Zhang, Qifeng Fu, Lujun Wang, Jing Zeng & Die Gao

  2. School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 401331, China

    Zhining Xia

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  1. Min Wang
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  2. Yuyan Wan
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  3. Kailian Zhang
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  4. Qifeng Fu
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  7. Zhining Xia
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Correspondence to Zhining Xia or Die Gao.

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This study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Southwest Medical University. All blood samples were from healthy persons with their informed consent.

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Wang, M., Wan, Y., Zhang, K. et al. Green synthesis of carbon dots using the flowers of Osmanthus fragrans (Thunb.) Lour. as precursors: application in Fe3+ and ascorbic acid determination and cell imaging. Anal Bioanal Chem 411, 2715–2727 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-019-01712-6

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