Abstract
In this study, we report on the fabrication of simple and rapid graphene quantum dots (GQDs)-based fluorescence “turn-ON” nanoprobes for sensitive and selective detection of ascorbic acid (AA). Pristine GQDs and S and N co-doped-GQDs (SN-GQDs) were functionalized with 4-amino-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxide (4-amino-TEMPO, a nitroxide free radical). The nitroxide free radicals efficiently quenched the fluorescence of the GQDs and upon interaction of the nanoconjugates with ascorbic acid, the quenched fluorescence was restored. The linear ranges recorded were 0.5–5.7 μM and 0.1–5.5 μM for GQDs-4-amino-TEMPO and SN-GQDs-4amino-TEMPO nanoprobes, respectively. Limits of detection were found to be 60 nM and 84 nM for SN-GQDS-4-amino-TEMPO and GQDs-4-amino-TEMPO for AA detection, respectively. This novel fluorescence “turn-ON” technique showed to be highly rapid and selective towards AA detection.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2199-2212 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Journal of Fluorescence |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 13 Sept 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and National Research Foundation (NRF), South Africa through DST/NRF South African Research Chairs Initiative for Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Nanotechnology (UID 62620) as well as Rhodes University/DST Centre for Nanotechnology Innovation, Rhodes University, South Africa.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.