Background

The current synthetic strategies for carbon dots (CDs) are usually time-consuming, rely on complicated processes, and need high temperatures and energy. Recent studies have successfully synthesized CDs at room temperature. Unfortunately, most CDs synthesized at room temperature are obtained under harsh reaction conditions, prepared using aromatic precursors, or need a long time to generate. Therefore, an energy-free room-temperature rapid synthesis of CDs under mild conditions using aliphatic substrates is important. We aim to provide an innovative approach to synthesizing CDs to be used to develop the first fluorescence-based assay of the non-fluorescent anti-hyperlipidemic drug, fenofibrate.

Results

We report an innovative, energy-free, and room-temperature preparation of fluorescent N-doped CDs utilizing aliphatic substrates in only 20 min. The synthesis was based on a self-exothermic Schiff base condensation reaction between methylglyoxal and ethylenediamine. The prepared CDs' antibacterial properties, biocompatibility, and cell-imaging ability were investigated. The fluorescence signal of the CDs was quantitively quenched upon adding increasing concentrations of fenofibrate in the range of 0.50–15.0 μg/mL. Therefore, the prepared CDs were applied as a nanosensor to develop the first fluorescence-based assay of fenofibrate. The reliability of the synthesized nanosensor was confirmed by the successful quantification of fenofibrate in pharmaceutical dosage forms, environmental water, weight loss herbal products, and dietary supplements. The obtained recovery ranged from 95.33 to 104.58 %. In addition, the minimal environmental impact of the developed fenofibrate sensing strategy was confirmed using the recently reported metrics.

Significance and novelty

The key advantage of this work is the use of an energy-free approach to synthesize CDs rapidly under mild conditions without aromatic substrates. This opens a new window for the eco-friendly synthesis of CDs that avoids the drawbacks of the traditional methods. Additionally, it is the first fluorescence nanosensor for sensing fenofibrate in various matrices, avoiding the limitations of the previous methods, such as high cost, poor selectivity, and low sensitivity.

中文翻译：

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脂肪族底物介导的独特碳量子点室温快速合成，用于非诺贝特多功能分析

 背景

目前的碳点 （CD） 合成策略通常很耗时，依赖于复杂的过程，并且需要高温和能源。最近的研究已经成功地在室温下合成了 CD。不幸的是，在室温下合成的大多数 CD 是在恶劣的反应条件下获得的，使用芳香族前驱体制备的，或者需要很长时间才能生成。因此，在温和条件下使用脂肪族底物在温和条件下快速合成 CDs 非常重要。我们的目标是提供一种合成 CD 的创新方法，用于开发非荧光抗高血脂药物非诺贝特的第一个基于荧光的测定法。

 结果

我们报道了一种利用脂肪族底物在室温下制备荧光 N 掺杂 CDs 的创新、无能耗和室温反应，仅需 20 分钟。该合成基于甲基乙二醛和乙二胺之间的自放热席夫碱缩合反应。研究了制备的 CDs 的抗菌性能、生物相容性和细胞成像能力。在添加浓度递增的 0.50–15.0 μg/mL 范围内的非诺贝特时，对 CDs 的荧光信号进行定量淬灭。因此，将制备的 CDs 用作纳米传感器，以开发第一个基于荧光的非诺贝特测定法。药物剂型、环境水、减肥草药产品和膳食补充剂中非诺贝特的成功定量证实了合成纳米传感器的可靠性。获得的回收率范围为 95.33 至 104.58 %。此外，使用最近报告的指标证实了开发的非诺贝特传感策略对环境的影响最小。

 意义和新颖性

这项工作的主要优点是使用无能量方法在温和的条件下快速合成 CD，而无需芳香族底物。这为环保合成 CD 打开了一扇新窗口，避免了传统方法的缺点。此外，它是第一个用于传感各种基质中非诺贝特的荧光纳米传感器，避免了以前方法的成本高、选择性差、灵敏度低等局限性。