Chinese Journal of Chromatography ›› 2021, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (8): 816-826.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1123.2021.04022

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Application of carbon dots in analysis and detection of antibiotics

CHAI Peijun1, SONG Zhihua1,*(), LIU Wanhui1, XUE Junping1, WANG Shuo3, LIU Jinqiu1, LI Jinhua2,*()   

  1. 1. School of Pharmacy of Yantai University, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Drug Delivery System and Biotech Drugs in Universities of Shandong, Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Evaluation, Ministry of Education, Yantai 264005, China
    2. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research (YIC), CAS, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, Yantai 264003, China
    3. China (Yantai) Intellectual Property Protection Center, Yantai 264003, China
  • Received:2021-05-09 Online:2021-08-08 Published:2021-06-29
  • Contact: SONG Zhihua,LI Jinhua
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(21876199);Science and Technology Innovation Development Plan of Yantai(2020MSGY112);National Demonstration Center for Experimental Pharmacy Education (Yantai University)

Abstract:

Antibiotics have been overused in recent years because of their remarkable curative effect, but this has led to considerable environmental pollution. Therefore, the development of approaches aimed at the effective detection and control of the antibiotics is vital for protecting the environment and human health. Many conventional strategies (such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC), high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS)) are currently in use for the detection of antibiotics. These strategies have aroused a great deal of interest because of their outstanding features of high efficiency and speed, good reproducibility, automation, etc. However, various problems such as tedious sample pretreatment, low detection sensitivity, and high cost must be overcome for the effective detection of antibiotics in environmental samples. Consequently, it is of great significance to improve the detection sensitivity of antibiotics. The development of new materials combined with the existing detection technology has great potential to improve the detection results for antibiotics. Carbon dots (CDs) are a new class of nanomaterials with particle sizes in the range of 0-10 nm. In addition, CDs have desirable properties such as small particle effect, excellent electrical properties, unique optical properties, and good biocompatibility. Hence, they have been widely utilized for the detection of antibiotics in environmental samples. In this review, the application of CDs combined with sensors and chromatographic technology for the detection of antibiotics in the last five years are summarized. The development prospects of CD-based materials and their application to the analysis and detection of antibiotics are presented. In this review, many new sensors (CDs combined with molecularly imprinted polymer sensors, aptamer sensors, electrochemiluminescence sensors, fluorescence sensors, and electrochemical sensors) combined with CD-based materials and their use in the detection of antibiotics are summarized. Furthermore, advanced analysis methods such as ratiometric sensor and array sensor methods are reviewed. The novel analysis methods provide a new direction toward the detection of antibiotics by CDs combined with a sensor. Moreover, CD-based chromatographic stationary phases for the separation of antibiotics are also summarized in this manuscript. It is reported that the detection sensitivity for antibiotics can be greatly improved by the combination of CDs and a sensor. Nevertheless, a literature survey reveals that the detection of antibiotics in complex environmental samples is confronted with numerous challenges, including the fabrication of highly sensitive sensors in combination with CDs. Furthermore, the development of novel high-performance materials is of imperative. In addition, it is important to develop new methods for effective data processing. The separation of antibiotics with CDs as the chromatographic stationary phases is in the preliminary stage, and the separation mechanism remains to be clarified. In conclusion, there are still many problems to be overcome when using CDs as novel materials for the detection of antibiotics in environmental samples. Nowadays, CD-based materials are being intensively studied, and various analytical detection technologies are being rapidly developed. In the future, CD-based materials are expected to play an important role in the detection of antibiotics and other environmental pollutants.

Key words: chromatography analysis, sensor analysis, carbon dots (CDs), antibiotics, review

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