A MnO2 nanosheet-assisted ratiometric fluorescence probe based on carbon quantum dots and o-phenylenediamine for determination of 6-mercaptopurine

A MnO 2 nanosheet-assisted ratiometric fluorescence probe based on carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and o-phenylenediamine (OPD) has been developed for the detection of the anticancer drug 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP). CQDs with strong fluorescence are synthesized via the one-step hydrothermal method. MnO 2 nanosheets as an oxidase-mimicking nanomaterial directly oxidize OPD into 2,3-diaminophenazine (DAP) which has a fluorescence emission at 570 nm, whereas the fluorescence of CQDs at 445 nm is then reduced by the DAP through the inner filter effect (IFE) under a single excitation wavelength (370 nm). After adding 6-MP, MnO 2 nanosheets can be reduced to Mn 2+ and lose their oxidase-like property, blocking the IFE with the fluorescence decrease of DAP and fluorescence increase of CQDs. The novel ratiometric fluorescence probe exhibits considerable sensitivity toward 6-MP and linear response is in the 0.46–100.0 μmol L −1 concentration range with the detection limit of 0.14 μmol L −1 . Furthermore, the probe shows good selectivity when exposed to a series of interfering other organic and inorganic compounds, and biomolecules and can be applied to the detection for 6-MP in human serum samples and pharmaceutical tablets. Satisfactory recoveries of 6-MP in human serum samples are in the range 96.1–110.9% with the RSD of 1.4 to 3.2%. The amount of 6-MP is successfully estimated as 49.3 mg in pharmaceutical tablet with the RSD of about  2.2%. Graphical abstract