Synthesis-Modification Integration: One-Step Fabrication of Boronic Acid Functionalized Carbon Dots for Fluorescent Blood Sugar Sensing

In this paper, we have presented a novel strategy to fabricate fluorescent boronic acid modified carbon dots (C-dots) for nonenzymatic blood glucose sensing applications. The functionalized C-dots are obtained by one-step hydrothermal carbonization, using phenylboronic acid as the sole precursor. Compared with conventional two-step fabrication of nanoparticle-based sensors, the present “synthesis-modification integration” strategy is simpler and more efficient. The added glucose selectively leads to the assembly and fluorescence quenching of the C-dots. Such fluorescence responses can be used for well quantifying glucose in the range of 9–900 μM, which is 10–250 times more sensitive than that of previous boronic acid based fluorescent nanosensing systems. Due to “inert” surface, the C-dots can well resist the interferences from various biomolecules and exhibit excellent selectivity. The proposed sensing system has been successfully used for the assay of glucose in human serum. Due to simplicity and effectivity, it exhibits great promise as a practical platform for blood glucose sensing.