Investigation of the use of carbon dots from <i>Euphorbia amygdaloides</i> for the detection of aflatoxin B1

Carbon dots (CDs) are generally stable, hydrophilic, and biocompatible structures. For this reason, EA-CDs were synthesized using the Euphorbia amygdaloides (EA) plant using a non-toxic and environmentally friendly pyrolysis technique. The obtained EA-CDs were characterized using both optical and instrumental techniques. While the optical properties were characterized by fluorescence measurements, it was determined that EA-CDs gave the highest emission intensity at 451.94 nm. Structural characterization was verified and confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. According to the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis results, it was revealed that EA-CDs have a spherical structure in the range of 2-10 nm. The effectiveness of different temperature and pH values on fluorescence and absorbance behavior of EA-CDs was also tested, and it was determined that they were sensitive to pH and stable against temperature changes. The usability of EA-CDs in the detection of AFB1 was determined to be usable in testing with 88% accuracy at low concentrations.