Bright, blue fluorescent carbon dots for sensitive and selective detection of folic acid

Bright, blue fluorescent carbon quantum dots (N-CDs) were carried out utilizing phenylenediamine and ascorbic acid as raw precursor through the hydrothermal method. The as-designed N-CDs suggested excitation-dependent characteristic changing from 340 nm to 380 nm. Moreover, Folic acid could availably quench the fluorescence intensity of the N-CDs. According to this experimental phenomenon, the sensitivity and selectivity of N-CDs for folic acid detection were developed. Under optimal experimental conditions, the as-prepared probe displayed excellent linearity with the folic acid concentration changing from 0.5 to 200 μM, and the limit of detection was 0.079 μM. Furthermore, the as-prepared probe indicated good sensitivity towards folic acid sensing in glucose and bovine serum samples. The recoveries of 95.9–104.8 % and 98.6–106.9 % were obtained in glucose and bovine serum samples, respectively. The corresponding relative standard deviation was lower than 2.74 % and 2.91 %, respectively. With preeminent sensitivity and selectivity, this as-developed nanosensor afforded a prospective platform for measuring folic acid in real samples. Furthermore, this N-CDs could be applied for the temperature detection.