Fluorescence Probe Based on Graphene Quantum Dots for Selective, Sensitive and Visualized Detection of Formaldehyde in Food

Yanpeng Zhang,Mengying Li,Chengfen Xing,Junjie Qi,Dong Gao

doi:10.3390/su13095273

Yanpeng Zhang, Mengying Li + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095273

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Abstract

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have been successfully used as a highly sensitive probe for the sensing of formaldehyde (HCHO) in an aqueous solution. Through static quenching, the probe utilizes the interaction between HCHO and GQDs to trigger the “turn off” fluorescence response, and has good selectivity. The probe can detect HCHO in a pure aqueous solution, and it also can still detect HCHO in a complex environment with a pH range from 4 to 10. The concentration of HCHO and the fluorescence intensity of GQDs show a good linear relationship within the range of HCHO of 0–1 μg/mL, which was much more sensitive than previous reports. The limit of HCHO detection by GQDs is about 0.0515 μg/mL. In addition, we successfully applied it to the actual food inspection. It is proved to be a selective, sensitive and visualized method to check whether the concentration of HCHO in the foods exceeds the regulatory limit, which presents a potential application in food safety testing.

Highlights

IntroductionDue to its antiseptic and bactericidal properties, formaldehyde is often added to foods to keep them fresh
Formaldehyde, as the simplest carbonyl compound, is widely used in our daily lives.Due to its antiseptic and bactericidal properties, formaldehyde is often added to foods to keep them fresh
It is proved to be a selective, sensitive and visualized method to check whether the concentration of HCHO in the foods exceeds the regulatory limit, which presents a potential application in food safety testing

Summary

Introduction

Due to its antiseptic and bactericidal properties, formaldehyde is often added to foods to keep them fresh. As early as 2009, formaldehyde was included in the list of carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) due to its strong pathogenicity for nasopharyngeal carcinoma and weak pathogenicity for leukemia [1]. It is extremely important to detect formaldehyde in food with high sensitivity. The detection methods of formaldehyde mainly include spectrophotometry [2], gas chromatography [3], high-performance liquid chromatography [4], Raman spectroscopy [5], mass spectrometry [6] and fluorescence spectrophotometry [7]. Fluorescence detection technology has received more and more attention due to its simple measurement, high sensitivity, and strong specificity. The detection reaction mainly includes the reaction of amino (-NH2 ) [10,11,12]

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