Red emission carbon dots for mitoxantrone detection

Red-emitting carbon dots were designed for the first time as the fluorescent probe for the determination of mitoxantrone (MITX) anticancer drug in human serum based on the inner filter effect (IFE). With the increase of MITX concentration, the single emission fluorescence intensity of the red carbon dots (R-CDs) at 655 nm gradually decreased and the emission peak position red-shifted to 661 nm. The developed R-CDs detection probe was sensitive to MITX with a wide linear detection range of 0.096–30 µM and a low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.032 µM. Moreover, the proposed method had been successfully applied to the determination of MITX in human serum samples, showing exhibited good operability, low cost, and high accuracy.