Artificial tongue based on carbon dots and a porphyrin derivative for pattern recognition of metal ions

An artificial tongue for the discrimination of different metal ions based on fluorescent carbon dots (C-dots) and meso-tetrakis(4-(N-methylpyridiumyl))porphyrin (TMPyP) was developed in this manuscript. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between C-dots and TMPyP was applied for the sensor array consisting of C-dots, TMPyP and a C-dot–TMPyP complex. Fifteen metal ions have been effectively identified by the sensor array with different fingerprint-like patterns which were analyzed from the distinct fluorescence responses through principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), providing a fast and efficient method for the detection of metal ions.