Pyridinic-N-rich carbon dots in IFE-based Turn-off Fluorometric detection of nerve agent Mimic– Diethyl chlorophosphate and multicolor cell imaging

Fluorometric sensors for the detection of nerve agent mimics have received a lot of interest nowadays due to their high sensitivity and selectivity, ease of operation, and real-time monitoring. Pyridinic-N-rich carbon dots (NCDs) prepared through microwave-assisted pyrolysis of l-Malic acid and urea have been explored first time in this work as a novel turn-off fluorescent probe for the sensitive and selective detection of diethyl chlorophosphate (DCP), a nerve agent mimic. The as-prepared carbon dots contained a large amount of pyridinic nitrogen on their surface, which can modulate the photoluminescence properties of the NCDs. The blue emissive NCDs possessed both excitation wavelength-dependent and independent emission behavior. The detection of DCP was premised on quenching of the fluorescence emission intensity of NCDs in the presence of similar chemical reagents (e.g., trimethyl phosphate, triethyl phosphate, triethyl phosphonoacetate, triphenyl phosphate, diphenyl phosphate, tributyl phosphate). Fluorescence quenching of the NCDs in the presence of DCP has been attributed to the inner filter effect (IFE). From the linear Stern-Volmer plot (R2 = 0.9992), the limit of detection (LOD) was found to be 84 μM for sensing DCP for the concentration ranging between 3 and 15 mM. The biocompatibility of NCDs was assessed through cytotoxicity assay on MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Fluorescence imaging demonstrated that NCDs have low cytotoxicity and can be employed successfully in cell imaging.