A smartphone-integrated optosensing platform based on red-emission carbon dots for real-time detection of pyrethroids

This report described the development of an optosensing platform based on red-emission carbon dots (RCDs) integrated with a smartphone application that, together, can detect pyrethroids in real time. Based on the high stability and selectivity of molecular imprinting technology, RCDs-based optosensing imprinted polymers was obtained by using a one-pot inverse microemulsion surface imprinting method. Lambda-cyhalothrin (LC), which is a pyrethroid pesticide, can interact with the widely distributed -NH2 groups on the surface of the RCD-based optosensing nanomaterials to achieve fixed-point adsorption. The quantitative detection of pyrethroids in a wide concentration range (1-120 mu g/L) could be achieved, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.89 mu g/L. Furthermore, a portable UV light box combined with a smartphone was used to convert the change in fluorescence of the RCDs-based optosensing nanomaterials into specific values upon adding pyrethroids, and the LOD by using smartphone was 6.66 mu g/L. The developed platform has numerous advantages, including low cost, simple operation, high sensitivity, and good specificity, among others, and it achieves on-site visualization and rapid detection.

Automated summary

The study developed an optosensing platform based on carbon dots that can detect pyrethroids in real time, with advantages of low cost, simple operation, high sensitivity, on-site visualization, and rapid detection.