Ratiometric Fluorescent Hydrogel Test Kit for On-Spot Visual Detection of Nitrite

In this work, we proposed a new method based on carbon dots (named m-CDs) for selective and efficient detection of nitrite (NO₂^-), which was based on the interaction between the amine group of m-CDs and NO₂^- via a diazo reaction that produced diazonium salts and induced the fluorescence quenching of m-CDs. The concentration of NO₂^- shows a good linear relationship with a quenched fluorescence intensity from 0.063 to 2.0 μM ( R² = 0.996) with a detection limit of 0.018 μM. In addition, a ratiometric fluorescence probe ( m-CDs@[Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺) was constructed via electrostatic interaction by introducing Ru(bpy)₃Cl₂·6H₂O as an internal reference fluorescent reagent. Interestingly, a transition of the fluorescent color of the ratiometric probe from cyan to red could be visually observed upon increasing the concentration of NO₂^-. Based on these findings, a ratiometric fluorescent-based portable agarose hydrogel test kit was fabricated and applied for on-spot assessment of NO₂^- content within 10 min. As far as we know, this is the first ratiometric fluorescent sensor for visual detection of NO₂^-. It has broad application prospects in environmental monitoring and food safety assessment.