Atractylodin targeted visual fluorescence sensor based on N-acetyl-L-cysteine capped CdTe QDs for the rapid identification of the geographical origin of Atractylodis Rhizome

Abstract

The economic and medicinal value of Atractylodis Rhizoma (AR) is intricately tied to its geographical origin and mainly depends on the atractylodin (IUPAC Name: 2-[(1E,7E)-nona-1,7-dien-3,5-diynyl]furan) content in it. In this study, a green fluorescent sensor using N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC, IUPAC Name: (2R)-2-acetamido-3-sulfanylpropanoic acid)-capped CdTe quantum dots (QDs) was developed for the detection of AR origin discrimination. Both electron transfer and internal filtration effects was introduced into sensor to improve the sensitivity and selectivity. The sensors can achieve visual quantitative analysis of atractylodin using the partial least squares regression (PLSR) model. This model with a detection limit of 0.321 µg /mL and the quantification range of 0.002–0.030 mg /mL. Furthermore, the visual sensor also could be applied to the quantification of atractylodin in the actual AR samples with recoveries as high as 95.36 % to 105 %. Their sensor was also able to identify different origin of AR with an accuracy of 100 % for the training set and 95.29 % for the prediction set using the partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA) model. The method offers direction for verifying the authenticity of traditional Chinese medicine and precise analysis of intended constituents in complex systems.