Highly selective and sensitive detection of trace amoxicillin with a novel fluorescent nanoprobe N, S-CDs@MIP based on S/N co-doped carbon quantum dots combined with molecularly imprinted polymer

At present, the rapid, sensitive, and highly selective detection of trace organic contaminants is a research spot in the field of environment. Herein, a novel fluorescent nanoprobe N, S-CDs@MIP based on N/S co-doped carbon quantum dots (CDs) coupled with amoxicillin molecularly imprinted polymer was synthesized. The fluorescent property of N, S-CDs@MIP and fluorescence quenching level of amoxicillin to N, S-CDs@MIP was explored. Furthermore, the fluorescence analysis method based on N, S-CDs@MIP probe for quantitatively detecting amoxicillin was established. The synthesized N, S-CDs@MIP has a maximum fluorescence emission wavelength of 440 nm and a significantly selective fluorescence response toward amoxicillin with a large imprinting factor of 4.07. For the developed fluorescence analysis method, the detection limit, the linear range of the standard curve, and relative standard deviation (RSD) were obtained as 1.17 ng/mL, 5.8–200 ng/mL, and <3 %, respectively. The real environmental water samples were measured with a high accuracy with the recovery of 83.6 % ~ 104.7 % and RSD of 2.3 % ~ 5.1 %. Compared to the HPLC-UV, HPLC-MS, and the fluorescence detection method based on CDs or doped CDs, the established fluorescence detection method exhibits high selectivity, wide linear range, and low detection limit. It is greatly promising in the quick detection of trace amoxicillin.