Microwave assisted one-step green synthesis of fluorescent carbon nanoparticles from ionic liquids and their application as novel fluorescence probe for quercetin determination

In this study, a new sensitive and convenient method for the determination of quercetin based on the fluorescence quenching of fluorescent carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) was developed. The CNPs derived from ionic liquids were prepared using a green and rapid microwave-assisted synthetic approach for the first time. The one-step green preparation process is simple and effective, neither a strong acid solvent nor surface modification reagent is needed, which makes this approach very suitable for large-scale production. The prepared CNPs were characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, elemental analysis and spectrofluorometry. In NH3–NH4Cl buffer solution (pH 9.47), the fluorescence signals of CNPs decreased obviously with increase of the quercetin concentration. The effect of other coexisting foreign substances on the intensity of CNPs showed a low interference response. Under the optimum conditions, the fluorescence intensity presented a linear response versus quercetin concentration according to the Stern–Volmer equation with an excellent 0.9989 correlation coefficient. The linearity ranged from 2.87×10−6 to 31.57×10−6 mol L−1 with the detection limit (3σ) of 9.88×10−8 mol L−1. The recovery of this method was in the range of 93.3–105.1%. Therefore, the CNPs could to be a promising candidate as a fluorescence probe for the detection of trace levels of quercetin due to their advantages in low-cost production, low cytotoxicity, strong fluorescence and excellent biocompatibility. -- Highlights: ► Fluorescent CNPs were synthesized with microwave pyrolysis approach. ► Ionic liquids were used as sources of carbon and nitrogen for the first time. ► The formation and functionalization of CNPs were accomplished simultaneously. ► CNPs were used as fluorescent probes for the determination of quercetin. ► A sensitive and convenient method based on the fluorescence quenching was developed