Emerging trends in green carbon dots coated with molecularly imprinted polymers for sensor platforms

Carbon dots (CDs) attracted broad research interest since its first discover in 2004, due to their superior physicochemical features and favorable attributes such as great biocompatibility, excellent optical features, low cost, eco friendliness and electron mobility. CDs are effectively utilized as fluorescent probes of sensitive nanosensors for the sensing of different analytes in complex environments (i.e. biological, food and environmental samples) because of their excellent fluorescent features, great sensitivity, fast response and low cost. Synthesis of CDs through green routes is also crucial to avoid or decrease the requirements of hazardous reagent, solvents, long reaction time, extreme temperature and pressure values etc. Green CDs coated with molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) also received widespread interest. Extraordinary optical and physicochemical features of these unique nanomaterials together with high selectivity of MIPs make them as powerful and sensitive sensor platforms. This paper aims to highlight and discuss the recent developments in the fabrication of MIPs-coated green CDs as powerful sensing platforms for the determination of various compounds in complex samples (i.e. biological, food and environmental matrices).