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
Yanling Hu 1, Dongliang Yang 1, Chen Yang 1, Ning Feng 1, Zhouwei Shao 1, Lei Zhang 1
, Xiaodong Wang 1, Lixing Weng 2, Zhimin Luo 1 and Lianhui Wang 1,*
, Xiaodong Wang 1, Lixing Weng 2, Zhimin Luo 1 and Lianhui Wang 1,*
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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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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