Ali Al-Montaser Bellah H, Elmasry Mohamed R, Bin Jardan Yousef A, El-Wekil Mohamed M
Department of Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University Assiut Egypt
School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) Suwon 16419 Republic of Korea.
RSC Adv. 2025 Mar 4;15(9):6962-6973. doi: 10.1039/d5ra00448a. eCollection 2025 Feb 26.
The leaching of aluminum and cobalt ions into canned foods, such as aluminum from canned tomato sauce and cobalt from canned tuna, raises concerns about potential health risks, making their accurate detection essential for food safety. In this study, we developed a novel ratiometric fluorometric sensor based on dual-emission carbon dots capable of selectively detecting aluminum (Al) and cobalt (Co) ions after a single excitation. The sensor exhibits distinct fluorescence responses: cobalt ions enhance the emission at 403 nm due to interactions with nitrogen and sulfur groups on the carbon dot surface, while Al enhance the emission at 532 nm through binding with oxygen-rich groups such as carboxyl and hydroxyl. This differential response stems from the varying affinities of these metal ions for different functional groups, as confirmed through mechanistic studies and comprehensive characterization of the carbon dots, including TEM, UV-Vis, FTIR, and fluorescence lifetime analyses. The method demonstrates excellent sensitivity, with limits of detection (LOD) of 0.012 μM for Co and 0.06 μM for Al. The sensor's performance was validated with real food samples, successfully determining Al in canned tomato sauce and Co in canned tuna. The method exhibited high selectivity with minimal interference, achieving recovery rates of 97.50-100.67% for Al and 97.01-98.02% for Co. These findings underscore the robustness and practical applicability of the proposed sensor as a reliable tool for monitoring Al and Co in canned foods, ensuring food safety and compliance with regulatory standards.
铝离子和钴离子渗入罐装食品，如番茄酱罐头中的铝和金枪鱼罐头中的钴，引发了对潜在健康风险的担忧，因此对它们进行准确检测对于食品安全至关重要。在本研究中，我们开发了一种基于双发射碳点的新型比率荧光传感器，能够在单次激发后选择性检测铝（Al）和钴（Co）离子。该传感器呈现出独特的荧光响应：钴离子由于与碳点表面的氮和硫基团相互作用而增强403 nm处的发射，而铝通过与富含氧的基团（如羧基和羟基）结合增强532 nm处的发射。这种差异响应源于这些金属离子对不同官能团的亲和力不同，通过机理研究以及对碳点的全面表征（包括透射电子显微镜、紫外可见光谱、傅里叶变换红外光谱和荧光寿命分析）得到了证实。该方法具有出色的灵敏度，钴的检测限（LOD）为0.012 μM，铝的检测限为0.06 μM。用实际食品样品验证了该传感器的性能，成功测定了番茄酱罐头中的铝和金枪鱼罐头中的钴。该方法具有高选择性，干扰极小，铝的回收率为97.50 - 100.67%，钴的回收率为97.01 - 98.02%。这些发现强调了所提出的传感器作为监测罐装食品中铝和钴的可靠工具的稳健性和实际适用性，确保了食品安全并符合监管标准。
