Simple detection of minocycline using the designed fluorine-doped carbon dots as probe through fluorescence approach

Minocycline (MC), a widely used broad-spectrum antibiotic in both clinical practice and the food industry, exhibits remarkable efficacy alongside notable adverse effects. Consequently, the development of a straightforward yet efficient detection strategy for MC in medical science and food industry assumes paramount importance to avoid its misuse and accumulation. Herein, fluorine-doped carbon dots (F-CDs) with favorable optical properties were designed and synthesized via a hydrothermal procedure using tetrafluorophthalic acid and polyethylene polyamine as raw materials. It was observed that MC quenched the fluorescence of F-CDs through the mechanism of static quenching and inner filter effects. When the concentrations of MC (C MC ) were in the range of 0.5–25 μg/mL, there was a good linear relationship between C MC and the fluorescence quenching efficiency (QE, calculated as (F 0 F)/F 0 ) with the equation of Y = 0.025*C MC  + 0.012 and the detection limit of 0.24 μg/mL ( n  = 8). Furthermore, this method demonstrated high sensitivity, simplicity, and rapidity in determining the percentage label content of minocycline hydrochloride capsules, as well as the recovery of MC in human serum samples and dairy products. The excellent analytical performance of this method underscores its promising potential for drug concentration monitoring, clinical blood drug concentration assessments, and food safety control. The findings highlight the importance and potential of this strategy in ensuring strict quality control of MC in various applications.