Black phosphorus quantum dots are useful oxidase mimics for colorimetric determination of biothiols.

Black phosphorus quantum dots (BP QDs) with small size are synthesized using an easy to operate thermal method. It was found that BP QDs possess oxidase-mimicking activity. They can catalyze the oxidation of the substrate 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine to produce a blue-colored product even in the absence of hydrogen peroxide. Active oxygen species are proved to be involved in the reaction through the experiments of radical scavenging and electron spin resonance. Biothiols including reduced glutathione and cysteine inactivate the oxidase-mimicking activity of BP QDs, concomitant to the fading of the blue solution. This provides the  base for a colorimetric method for the determination of glutathione and cysteine. The decreased absorbance at 652 nm displays linear response to the concentrations of glutathione ranging from 0.1 to 5.0 μmol L, and cysteine from 0.1 to 10.0 μmol L. The detection limits are 0.02 μmol L and 0.03 μmol L for glutathione and cysteine, respectively. Successive determinations of 1.0 μmol L glutathione and 5.0 μmol L cysteine solution give relative standard deviations of 0.8% and 1.7% (n = 11), respectively. As a preliminary application, the practicability of the method was evaluated by the determination of glutathione in pharmaceutical preparations. This work not only discovers a useful oxidase mimics but also sets up a reliable platform based on BP QDs in colorimetric detection. Graphical abstract Schematic representation of colorimetric determination for biothiols through inactivating oxidase mimetic-like catalytic activity of black phosphorus quantum dots (BP QDs) on the oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) with dissolved oxygen to produce its blue oxidized product (oxTMB).