Detection of glutathione based on nitrogen-doped carbon dots as a fluorescence probe

The green fluorescent nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots （N-CDs） were synthesized by one-step hydrothermal method using salicylic acid and ethylenediamine as raw materials. The synthesized N-CDs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy （TEM），Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FT-IR）， and fluorescence spectroscopy. Due to the fluorescence resonance energy transfer （FRET） from N-CDs to the MnO2 nanosheets，the fluorescence of N-CDs can be quenched by MnO2 nanosheets. However，the presence of glutathione （GSH） would reduce MnO2 nanosheets to Mn2+，resulting in sufficient recovery of fluorescent signal. Based on the above principle，a method was established to detect GSH with the linear range of 0.1-130 μµmol/L and the limit of detection of 0.089 μµmol/L. In addition，the N-CDs displayed low cytotoxicity and had been successfully used to image GSH in HepG2 cells. © 2023, Youke Publishing Co.,Ltd. All rights reserved.