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Fluorescent paper–based sensor based on carbon dots for detection of folic acid

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Abstract

Paper-based devices have been very much in the foreground of analytical science recently. This work innovatively proposed a fluorescent paper–based sensor (FPS) constructed on a hybrid polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/paper platform where cellulose papers functionalized with carbon dots (CDs) as fluorophores by Schiff base chemistry were loaded on the grooves array of a designed PDMS plate. As a proof of concept, the performance of FPS was investigated with folic acid (FA) as the target analyte. Under optimal conditions, FPS enabled a rapid fluorescence quenching response to FA via inner filter effect in a wide range of 1–300 μmol L−1 with the limit of detection of 0.28 μmol L−1. The feasibility of FPS was further verified by the detection of FA in orange juice and urine samples with satisfactory results. The covalent modification of CDs on paper endowed the FPS with good assay reproducibility and stability. Interestingly, FPS achieved a more sensitive assay of FA than the conventional strategy, by which the same CDs were directly used to detect FA in a solution-based system. The FPS illuminated a novel strategy for construction of reliable and sensitive assays based on paper-based devices. It is of paramount importance for its practical application in biosensing and clinical diagnosis.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21804141) and “Double First-Class University” project (CPU2018GY07, CPU2018GY21).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Analytical Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 TongJia**ang, Nan**g, 210009, Jiangsu, China

    Wang Li, **aoyue Zhang, Chunyue Miao, Ruijun Li & Yibing Ji

  2. Key Laboratory of Drug Quality Control and Pharmacovigilance, Ministry of Education, Nan**g, 210009, Jiangsu, China

    Wang Li, **aoyue Zhang, Chunyue Miao, Ruijun Li & Yibing Ji

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  1. Wang Li
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Correspondence to Ruijun Li or Yibing Ji.

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The urine samples were collected at China Pharmaceutical University and informed consents were obtained. The research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of China Pharmaceutical University, and all experiments were performed in accordance with the guidelines and ethical standards of the institution.

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Li, W., Zhang, X., Miao, C. et al. Fluorescent paper–based sensor based on carbon dots for detection of folic acid. Anal Bioanal Chem 412, 2805–2813 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-02507-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-02507-w

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