Facile synthesis of multifunctional carbon dots with 54.4% orange emission for label-free detection of morin and endogenous/exogenous hypochlorite

Abstract

Carbon dots with long-wavelength emission (orange to red), high quantum yield (QY) and good biocompatibility are of great significance for biomedical applications, but achieving this is still a highly challenging task. In this work, multifunctional carbon dots with 54.4% orange emission (O-CDs) were prepared through one-pot solvothermal treatment of nileblueasulphate and citric acid as precursor for label-free recognition of morin and endogenous/exogenous hypochlorite (ClO-) and bioimaging in cellular and zebrafish. Morin can quench the luminescence of O-CDs by static quenching (SQ). The linear range is 5–125 μM and LOD is 0.84 μM. ClO- reduce the photoluminescence intensity of O-CDs via SQ. The linear range is 2.5–90 μM and LOD was 0.46 μM. In addition, The obtained O-CDs have successfully realized the monitoring of morin and endogenous/ exogenous ClO- in living cells and zebrafish owing to its superior biocompatibility, exceptional photostability and lower toxicity. This work opens up a novel opportunity for the development of long-wavelength emission multifunctional nanomaterial with high quantum yield based on CDs for biosensing, biolabeling and biomedical optical imaging.