Simple preparation of fluorescence probe based on CdTe quantum dots combined with MIP for selective detection of sulfadimidine

A simple fluorescence sensor for the detection of sulfadimidine (SM₂) was fabricated by molecular imprinting technology. Cadmium telluride quantum dots (CdTe QDs) as the fluorescent material, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) as functional monomer, sulfadimidine as template molecule and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as cross-linker, the CdTe QDs were embedded in silica nano-particles by reverse microemulsion method. Under optimal detection condition, response is linear in the 2–30 μmol L⁻¹ SM₂ concentration condition with the detection limit was 0.4 μmol L⁻¹. In addition, the correlation coefficient was 0.9857 and the imprinting factor was 4.82. The fluorescent probe was successfully applied to the determination of SM₂ in tap water and milk sample with the spiked recoveries ranging from 99.8 to 103.2%. It gets a good specific recognition ability and potential practical application value.