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Nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon dot-based ratiometric fluorescent probe for Zn2+ sensing and imaging in living cells

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Abstract

A near-infrared nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon dot (N,S-CD)-based ratiometric fluorescent probe is proposed that is synthesized via hydrothermal approach using glutathione and formamide as precursor for sensing and imaging of Zn2+. The prepared N,S-CDs facilitate binding with Zn2+ owing to N and S atom doping. The ratio (I650/I680) of fluorescence intensity at 650 nm and 680 nm increased with the concentrations of Zn2+ when the excitation wavelength was 415 nm. The linearity range was 0.01 to 1.0 μM Zn2+with a detection limit of 5.0 nM Zn2+. The proposed probe was applied to label-free monitoring of Zn2+ in real samples and fluorescent imaging of Zn2+ in living cells, which confirmed its promising applications.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (No.21665001; 21874030), BAGUI Scholar Program and Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi Province (No.2021GXNSFAA220113).

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Author notes

  1. Shengyu Chen and Suping Li contributed equally to this paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Regional Ecological Environment Analysis and Pollution Control of West Guangxi, College Chemistry & Environment Engineering, Baise University, Baise, 533000, China

    Shengyu Chen, Suping Li, Xiaofeng Liu, Bingfang Shi & Yijun Huang

  2. State Key Laboratory for the Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Medicinal Resources, College of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, 541004, China

    Shulin Zhao

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  1. Shengyu Chen
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  2. Suping Li
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  3. Xiaofeng Liu
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Correspondence to Bingfang Shi or Shulin Zhao.

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Chen, S., Li, S., Liu, X. et al. Nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon dot-based ratiometric fluorescent probe for Zn2+ sensing and imaging in living cells. Microchim Acta 189, 107 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-022-05188-7

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