Abstract
Acetaminophen (AC) is a frequently used pharmaceutical which has been detected in water systems and is of concern due to its potential environmental impacts. In this study, three quantum dot (QD)-ligand systems, namely L-cysteine (L-cys)-, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC)- and glutathione (GSH)-capped CdSe/ZnS quantum dots, were synthesized and tested for the fluorescence detection of acetaminophen. Among the synthesized aqueous core/shell quantum dots, L-cys-CdSe/ZnS QDs were found to be optimal with high sensitivity for the fluorescence detection of acetaminophen. The L-cys-CdSe/ZnS QDs were of a zinc blende crystal structure and displayed excellent fluorescence intensity and photostability and provided a photoluminescence quantum yield of 77 % . The fluorescence of L-cys-CdSe/ZnS QDs was enhanced by the introduction of AC enabling the development of a fast and simple method for the detection of AC. Under optimal conditions, F-F0 was linearly proportional to the concentration of AC from 3.0-100 nmol L-1 with limits of detection and quantification of 1.6 and 5.3 nmol L-1, respectively. Some related pharmaceutical compounds including epinephrine hydrochloride (EP), L-ascorbic acid (AA), uric acid (UA), dopamine hydrochloride (DA) and 4-aminophenol (4-AP) did not interfere with the sensing of AC. The probe was also successfully applied in the determination of AC in tap and river water matrices. Keywords: Acetaminophen, FRET, pharmaceuticals, quantum dots, fluorescence spectroscopy.
Highlights
Acetaminophen or paracetamol (N-acetyl-p-aminophenol, Fig. 1) is an acylated aromatic amide with log Kow 0.46,1 which was introduced in 1893 by Von Mering as antipyretic/analgesic medicine
AC has been reported to occur within the 6.5–11.8 nmol L–1 range in river waters in South Africa,[7,8] while it was detected in Kenyan river waters up to 708.0 nmol L–1.9 The concentration range of AC in water has been found to range from 0.86–1627 nmol L–1 10,11 in wastewater influent and 0.07–460 nmol L–1 12 in wastewater effluent
We describe a simple turn-on fluorescence detection approach for AC sensing based on L-cys-CdSe/ZnS quantum dot (QD) as these provided the highest sensitivity
Summary
Acetaminophen or paracetamol (N-acetyl-p-aminophenol, Fig. 1) is an acylated aromatic amide with log Kow 0.46,1 which was introduced in 1893 by Von Mering as antipyretic/analgesic medicine. It has a pKa of 9.46,2 with a solubility of 1.4 × 104 mg L–1 in water at 25 °C.3. Studies have shown that a large volume of pharmaceutical compounds is constantly entering the aquatic environment as well as sewers and drains from hospital waste, improper disposal of pharmaceutical waste, and from healthcare and veterinary facilities.[4] In spite of the fact that the detected concentrations thereof are low, a wide variety of potential deleterious effects, including acute and chronic toxicity on the aquatic environment[5] and accumulation in tissues[6] have been reported even at these low levels. AC has been reported to occur within the 6.5–11.8 nmol L–1 range in river waters in South Africa,[7,8] while it was detected in Kenyan river waters up to 708.0 nmol L–1.9 The concentration range of AC in water has been found to range from 0.86–1627 nmol L–1 10,11 in wastewater influent and 0.07–460 nmol L–1 12 in wastewater effluent
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