Green preparation of carbon dots from plum as a ratiometric fluorescent probe for detection of doxorubicin

Abstract Doxorubicin (DOX) represents an anthracycline-based antitumor and antibiotic medication. The determination of DOX in body fluids is of significance for treatment and individual dosage optimization. In this paper, a ratiometric fluorescence probe for the detection of DOX is established using plum-based carbon quantum dots (PCQDs) prepared form plum as precursors via facile bottom-up method. The prepared PCQDs show green fluorescence with excitation/emission wavelength at 388/491 nm. DOX can be measured by the fluorescence intensity ratio at 591 nm and 491 nm, and the detection concentration range is from 1 to 30 μM with a limit detection of 0.12 μM (3σ/k). The method shows good anti-interference and is successfully applied to the determination of DOX in human urine and human serum samples with satisfactory recoveries (92.61–116.64%), indicating that this method can be used as an alternative in the detection of DOX in clinic.