Green preparation of carbon dots with mangosteen pulp for the selective detection of Fe3+ ions and cell imaging

A simple method was developed in the synthesis of fluorescent carbon dots (referred to as M-CDs), calcined treatment of mangosteen pulp in air, without the assistance of any chemical reagent. The M-CDs possess good-solubility, satisfactory chemical stability and can be applied as the fluorescent temperature probe. More strikingly, the fluorescence of M-CDs can be fleetly and selectively quenched by Fe 3+ ions. The phenomenon was used to develop a fluorescent method for facile detection of Fe 3+ with a linear range of 0–0.18   mM and a detection limit of 52   nM. Eventually, the M-CDs were applied for cell imaging, demonstrating their potential toward diverse applications.