One-step hydrothermal synthesis of silver-doped carbon quantum dots for highly selective detection of uric acid

In this paper, a simple and convenient fluorescence method for detection of uric acid (UA) based on Ag–doped carbon quantum dots (Ag–CQDs) is developed. The Ag–CQDs contain Ag species could bond with UA, which promoted the electron and/or energy transfer and produced high quenching extent. Thus, the fluorescence intensity of Ag–CQDs decreased in the presence of UA. Under the optimal condition, the UA sensor exhibited a linear response in the range of 0.005–100 μM with a detection limit of 0.35 nM (S/N = 3). Ag–CQDs demonstrated high sensitivity and rapid response to UA over a wide range of concentration indicating their great potential as a fluorescent probe for chemical sensing. Moreover, this method has successfully applied to detect UA in human urine samples.