A facile synthesis of polyethyleneimine based fluorescent polymeric nanorods using vitamin B cofactor as cross-linker for ratiometric detection of doxorubicin.

Polyethyleneimine (PEI) based fluorescent polymeric nanorods with high quantum yield (87.21%) were synthesized by crosslinking and self-assembly of PEI by vitamin B cofactor pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP). The fluorescent PEIPLP polymeric nanorods were employed for the ratiometric detection of doxorubicin (DOX). With the addition of DOX to the PEIPLP nanorods, the fluorescent intensity was decreased at 510 nm and concomitantly enhanced at 590 nm due to the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) process. The selective and specific ratiometric fluorescence response from the PEIPLP nanorods can be employed to detect DOX down to 10 nM. The practical utility of the PEIPLP nanorods was examined by detecting DOX in human serum.