A di-functional and label-free carbon-based chem-nanosensor for real-time monitoring of pH fluctuation and quantitative determining of Curcumin

Abstract A nitrogen and sulfur dual-doped carbon nanodots (N,S-CNDs) sample was fabricated by an one-step hydrothermal treatment of acid fuchsin. The obtained N,S-CNDs possess yellow fluorescent, excellent water solubility, high fluorescence stability and religious biocompatibility, which can be used as a di-functional and label-free chem-nanosensor for the determination of pH and curcumin (Cur). When the pH is decreased from 8.0 to 4.4, the N,S-CNDs reveals an extraordinary emission escalation at emission wavelength (λ em ) of 543 nm, and the p K a value of the N,S-CNDs was calculated as 6.06. The N,S-CNDs displays a favourable linear relationship in the physiological pH range of 5.0–7.4, which is meaningful for the research of near-neutral cytosolic pH. Furthermore, the laser scanning confocal microscopic images of intracellular distribution and the determination of pH in HeLa cells were successfully carried out, implying that the N,S-CNDs possess excellent cell membrane permeability and are capable of being further applied to real-time pH fluctuations monitoring in live cells with negligible autofluorescence. More importantly, the fluorescence of N,S-CNDs may be dramatically quenched by Cur via a combination of electrostatic and hydrogen-bond interaction and fluorescence inner filter effect (FIFE). The limit of detection is as low as 81 nmol/L Cur, and the linearity range is 0.5–20 μmol/L Cur. Ultimately, a satisfactory result was obtained when applying the as-constructed fluorescent chem-nanosensing system for the analyses of Cur in practical samples.