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Multifunctional N, Fe-doped carbon dots with peroxidase-like activity for the determination of H2O2 and ascorbic acid and cell protection against oxidation

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Abstract

Multifunctional N, Fe-doped carbon dots (N, Fe-CDs) were synthesized by the one-step hydrothermal method using ferric ammonium citrate and dicyandiamide as raw materials. The N, Fe-CDs exhibited peroxidase-like (POD) activity by catalyzing the oxidization of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to the green oxidation state ox-TMB in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Subsequently, based on the POD activity of N, Fe-CDs, an efficient and sensitive colorimetric method for the detection of H2O2 and ascorbic acid (AA) was established with a limit of detection of 0.40 µM and 2.05 µM. The proposed detection method has been successfully applied to detect AA in fruit juice, vitamin C tablets, and human serum samples and has exhibited excellent application prospects in biotechnology and food fields. Furthermore, N, Fe-CDs also showed a protective effect on the cell damage caused by H2O2 and could be used as an antioxidant agent.

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Funding

This work is completed with funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31201305), the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (B2019205054, B2021205001), and the Science Foundation of Hebei Normal University (L2020B07, L2023J01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hebei Technology Innovation Center for Energy Conversion Materials and Devices, College of Chemistry and Material Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, P. R. China

    Shenna Chen, Ronghui Li, Mei Fang & Lina Geng

  2. Experimental Center for Teaching, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050017, P. R. China

    Bo Zhao

  3. College of Basic Medicine, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050017, P. R. China

    Yun Tian & Yuhua Lei

  4. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shijiazhuang People’s Hospital, Shijiazhuang, 050000, P. R. China

    Yayong Li

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  1. Shenna Chen
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  2. Ronghui Li
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  3. Bo Zhao
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  4. Mei Fang
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  6. Yuhua Lei
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  8. Lina Geng
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Contributions

Material preparation and characterization were carried out by R.L. and M.F. POD activity was tested by Y.L. The cell culture and experiments were carried out by B.Z. and Y.T. Data collection and analyses were performed by Y.L. The first draft of the manuscript was written by S.C., and the check of the manuscript was done by L.G. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lina Geng.

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Chen, S., Li, R., Zhao, B. et al. Multifunctional N, Fe-doped carbon dots with peroxidase-like activity for the determination of H2O2 and ascorbic acid and cell protection against oxidation. Microchim Acta 191, 384 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-024-06456-4

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