Orange carbon dots for Sn (IV) and ascorbic acid sensing in live cells and medicine

In view of the important influence of Sn 4+ and ascorbic acid (AA) on environmental pollution and human health, the establishment of an effective method to achieve rapid and highly sensitive detection is urgently needed. Herein, orange fluorescent (FL) carbon dots (CDs) were successfully prepared from 1,2,4,5-benzenetetramine tetrahydrochloride and thiourea via solvothermal approach. CDs can serve as FL sensors for detecting Sn 4+ and AA, the detection limit is 0.13 and 0.41 μM, respectively, through a signal on–off–on mode. Furthermore, the practicability of CDs nanoprobes is validated by the successful identification of Sn 4+ and AA in live cells, real water samples and medicine. The present work comfirms the feasibility of employing CDs as FL probes to effectively and selectively detect Sn 4+ and AA, which presents a potential approach for on-site detection of Sn 4+ and AA in various environment and biological systems with exceptional sensitivity.