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One-pot synthesis of N -CDs was applied as a highly efficient "ON-OFF-ON" fluorescent probe for the rapid detection of CAL and l -Arg/ l -Lys in living cells. As a consequence, these N -CDs as a powerful analysis tool displayed more prominent and influential ability in real-time monitoring CAL and l -Arg/ l -Lys, and might offer a new opportunity for exploring the physiological and pathological processes of amino acid metabolism diseases. [Display omitted] • The nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N -CDs) were synthesized via a simple one-step hydrothermal method. • These CDs could rapidly and selectively detect CAL and l -Arg/ l -Lys with the detection limits as low as 58 nM, 18 nM/16 nM, respectively. • The N -CDs as a fluorescent probe displayed low toxicity and were suitable for sensing CAL and l -Arg/ l -Lys in living cells. The disorder of amino acid metabolism and the abuse of small molecule drugs pose serious threats to public health. However, due to the limitations of existing detection technologies in sensing cinnamaldehyde (CAL) and l -Arginine/ l -Lysine (l -Arg/ l -Lys), there is an urgent need to develop new sensing strategies to meet the severe challenges currently facing. Herein, nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N -CDs) were developed using a simple one-pot hydrothermal carbonization method. These N -CDs exhibited numerous distinctive characteristics such as excellent photoluminescence, high water dispersibility, favorable biocompatibility, and superior chemical inertness. Strikingly, the as-prepared CDs as a highly efficient fluorescent probe possessed significant sensitivity and selectivity toward CAL and l -Arg/ l -Lys over other analytes with a low detection limit of 58 nM and 16 nM/18 nM, respectively. The fluorescence of N -CDs could be quenched by CAL through an electron transfer process. Then, the strong electrostatic interaction between l -Arg/ l -Lys and N -CDs induced the efficient fluorescence recovery. More importantly, the outstanding biosafety and excellent analyte-responsive fluorescence characteristics of N -CDs have also been verified in living cells as well as in serum and urine. Overall, the N -CDs had a wide application prospect in the diagnosis of amino acid metabolic diseases and small molecule drug sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-pot synthesis of N -CDs was applied as a highly efficient "ON-OFF-ON" fluorescent probe for the rapid detection of CAL and l -Arg/ l -Lys in living cells. As a consequence, these N -CDs as a powerful analysis tool displayed more prominent and influential ability in real-time monitoring CAL and l -Arg/ l -Lys, and might offer a new opportunity for exploring the physiological and pathological processes of amino acid metabolism diseases. [Display omitted] • The nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N -CDs) were synthesized via a simple one-step hydrothermal method. • These CDs could rapidly and selectively detect CAL and l -Arg/ l -Lys with the detection limits as low as 58 nM, 18 nM/16 nM, respectively. • The N -CDs as a fluorescent probe displayed low toxicity and were suitable for sensing CAL and l -Arg/ l -Lys in living cells. The disorder of amino acid metabolism and the abuse of small molecule drugs pose serious threats to public health. However, due to the limitations of existing detection technologies in sensing cinnamaldehyde (CAL) and l -Arginine/ l -Lysine (l -Arg/ l -Lys), there is an urgent need to develop new sensing strategies to meet the severe challenges currently facing. Herein, nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N -CDs) were developed using a simple one-pot hydrothermal carbonization method. These N -CDs exhibited numerous distinctive characteristics such as excellent photoluminescence, high water dispersibility, favorable biocompatibility, and superior chemical inertness. Strikingly, the as-prepared CDs as a highly efficient fluorescent probe possessed significant sensitivity and selectivity toward CAL and l -Arg/ l -Lys over other analytes with a low detection limit of 58 nM and 16 nM/18 nM, respectively. The fluorescence of N -CDs could be quenched by CAL through an electron transfer process. Then, the strong electrostatic interaction between l -Arg/ l -Lys and N -CDs induced the efficient fluorescence recovery. More importantly, the outstanding biosafety and excellent analyte-responsive fluorescence characteristics of N -CDs have also been verified in living cells as well as in serum and urine. Overall, the N -CDs had a wide application prospect in the diagnosis of amino acid metabolic diseases and small molecule drug sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sensitive blue fluorescent probe based on carbon dots has been synthesized by a one-pot hydrothermal method for the rapid detection of FA. [Display omitted] • A facile one-step hydrothermal synthesis of N-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) for FA detection using salicylic acid as a precursor was proposed. • N-CDs was used for selective and sensitive detection of FA with excellent detection limits (28 nM). • The fluorescence quenching of N-CDs caused by FA could be attributed to the synergy of static quenching mechanism and internal filtering effect (IFE). • N-CDs possessed good biocompatibility and had been successfully applied to cell imaging. The folic acid (FA) level in human body can be used as an indicator for body's normal physiological activities and offer insight into the growth and reproduction of the body's cells. But the abnormal level of FA can cause some diseases. Herein, we designed a simple and convenient approach to prepare fluorescent N-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) for the FA detection. These N-CDs have excellent hydrophilicity, high photostability, and outstanding biocompatibility, as well as excitation-independent emission behavior with typical excitation/emission peaks at 295 nm/412 nm. Upon the existence of FA, the fluorescence emission spectrum of N-CDs was significantly quenched through the synergy of static quenching mechanism and internal filtering effect (IFE). Under optimal conditions, the limit of detection was 28.0 nM (S/N = 3) within the FA concentration range of 0–200.0 μM. In addition, N-CDs were successfully employed to detect FA in real samples such as urine and fetal bovine serum (FBS), with a recovery rate of 99.6%-100.7% for quantitative addition. Furthermore, cell experiments confirmed the low toxicity and the cell imaging performance of these N-CDs, indicating that the obtained N-CDs could be served as a credible quantitative probe for FA analysis in the field of biosensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]