A silicon doped carbon dot-based fluorescent sensor for doxorubicin detection

As a broad-spectrum anticancer agent, doxorubicin (DOX) is extensively applied in the treatment of diverse human tumors. In this work, green-emitting fluorescent silicon doped carbon dots (Si-CDs) were fabricated through a straightforward solvent-thermal method. The as-prepared Si-CDs were quenched through the inner filter effect (IFE) with the addition of DOX. A fluorescence method based on Si-CDs was established for the quantitative analysis of DOX. The proposed approach showed a linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and DOX concentrations spanning from 0.05 to 50 µM, and its limit of detection reached as low as 6 nM. Meanwhile, the presented assay shows remarkable ability to detect DOX in practical samples with satisfactory recoveries, which may have important implications for the clinical monitoring of DOX therapy.