Azithromycin detection in cells and tablets by N,S co-doped carbon quantum dots

Azithromycin (AZM) 1 is one of the most widely used antibiotics. AZM abuse is easy to cause great harm to human body, so developing a rapid and sensitive method to detect AZM is of great importance. Herein, 3-aminothiophenol as only reaction precursor, nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon quantum dots (N,S-CQDs) 2 were fabricated by one-step hydrothermal carbonization method. All characteristics demonstrate that N,S-CQDs possess good water solubility, high fluorescence stability and low cytotoxicity. Without being disturbed by amino acids and drugs, the most interesting finding is that AZM can efficiently quench the fluorescence of N,S-CQDs by a synergistic effect of electrostatic interaction and static quenching. A fluorescent probe for the detection of AZM was constructed with high selectivity and good sensitivity, achieving two linear ranges of 2.5–32.3 μM and 37.2–110 μM and a limit of detection of 0.76 µM. The proposed fluorescent method was used for the detection of AZM in cells with fulfilling results. More importantly, the fluorescent probe was successfully used to the detection of AZM in tablets and human urine with recovery rate and relative standard deviations of 98.2–104.8% and 0.04–3.46%, respectively, which was confirmed by the standard method of HPLC-UV. This finding illustrates the usefulness and feasibility of N,S-CQDs as an effective fluorescent probe for the detection of AZM in tablets and human urine, which is helpful for supervising and guiding pharmacy.