Nitrogen doped carbon dots via hydrothermal synthesis: Naked eye fluorescent sensor for dopamine and used for multicolour cell imaging

Abstract

The development of novel uncomplicated sensor for sensitive and selective detection in biomedical analysis is necessary. This study demonstrates the synthesis of nitrogen doped carbon dots (N-C-dots) via hydrothermal synthesis as a naked eye fluorescent probe for selective and sensitive detection of dopamine (DA). The successful synthesis of N-C-dots was confirmed using various microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. In addition, N-C-dots incorporated gel strips were prepared through a simple approach for naked eye detection of dopamine. The linear range for detection of dopamine was 2 to 20 microgram/mL with a detection limit as low as 1.97 microgram/mL. Moreover N-C-dots showed low toxicity towards HeLa cells demonstrating their relevance in multicolour cell imaging. The developed probe was also utilized for quantitative determination of dopamine in commercial pharmaceutical sample with well adequate results.