Sensors 2018, 18(4), 1163; doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/s18041163
A Novel “Off-On” Fluorescent Probe Based on Carbon Nitride Nanoribbons for the Detection of Citrate Anion and Live Cell Imaging
1
Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics & Information Displays (KLOEID) and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China
2
College of Geography and Biological Information, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 9 March 2018 / Revised: 30 March 2018 / Accepted: 6 April 2018 / Published: 11 April 2018
(This article belongs to the Section Chemical Sensors)
Abstract
A novel fluorescent “off-on” probe based on carbon nitride (C3N4) nanoribbons was developed for citrate anion (C6H5O73−) detection. The fluorescence of C3N4 nanoribbons can be quenched by Cu2+ and then recovered by the addition of C6H5O73−, because the chelation between C6H5O73− and Cu2+ blocks the electron transfer between Cu2+ and C3N4 nanoribbons. The turn-on fluorescent sensor using this fluorescent “off-on” probe can detect C6H5O73− rapidly and selectively, showing a wide detection linear range (1~400 μM) and a low detection limit (0.78 μM) in aqueous solutions. Importantly, this C3N4 nanoribbon-based “off-on” probe exhibits good biocompatibility and can be used as fluorescent visualizer for exogenous C6H5O73− in HeLa cells. View Full-TextKeywords:
carbon nitride; nanoribbons; fluorescent detection; citrate anion; biosensing
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MDPI and ACS Style
Hu, Y.; Yang, D.; Yang, C.; Feng, N.; Shao, Z.; Zhang, L.; Wang, X.; Weng, L.; Luo, Z.; Wang, L. A Novel “Off-On” Fluorescent Probe Based on Carbon Nitride Nanoribbons for the Detection of Citrate Anion and Live Cell Imaging. Sensors 2018, 18, 1163.
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