Design and applications of carbon dots-based ratiometric fluorescent probes: A review
Binbin Chen, Mengli Liu, Yating Gao, Shuai Chang, Ruo‐Can Qian, Da‐Wei Li
Abstract
Ratiometric fluorescence (FL) probes can eliminate the background interference and provide more accurate detection results than single emission intensity-based nanoprobes. Recently, carbon dots (CDs)-based ratiometric FL probes have received extensive research attention due to their excellent biocompatibility, water solubility, and multi-emission capabilities. In this review, we firstly summarize the construction strategies of CDs-based ratiometric FL probes, including physical mixing, nanohybrid, and dual-emitting CDs strategies. Additionally, we classify the sensing types of CDs-based ratiometric FL probes into five categories according to the difference in spectral variation caused by analytes: “single-response-ON”, “single-response-OFF”, “double-responses-ON”, “double-responses-OFF”, and “double-responses-Reverse” types. Finally, a thorough overview of CDs-based ratiometric FL probe applications in ions, molecules, pH, and temperature sensing is provided. We believe this review can show the latest research progress of CDs-based ratiometric FL sensing fields and provide perspectives on future developments for the construction of CDs-based ratiometric FL probes and their potential applications.