Applications of Carbon Dots in Drugs, Antibiotics and Toxin Sensing

Abstract

Herein, a number of detection methods for drugs, antibiotics, and toxins have been developed using various strategies and applied in different real samples. Inner filter effect, fluorescence resonance energy transfer, photoinduced electron transfer, static quenching, and electron transfer are the major response mechanisms of the carbon dots (CDs) to various analytes. The surfaces of the CDs with plenty of functional groups, including NH2, COOH, OH, etc., can be modified by specific recognition moieties, such as antibodies, molecularly imprinted polymers, organic molecules, and aptamers, thereby to improve the selectivity of the detection methods toward drugs, antibiotics, and toxins.