Methamphetamine (MA), a psychoactive substance with many medicinal applications in different countries, has destructive impacts on the nervous system and brain and can lead to addiction. The optimal system for MA determination must be able to measure the tiny amount of MA in complex matrixes accurately. In the current work, a simple and biocompatible sensitive optical probe was developed based on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) technique and by using green CQDs and mesoporous structured imprinting microspheres (SiO@CQDs@ms-MIPs). CQDs (Ф = 33%) were synthesized via the hydrothermal method using natural chewing gum as carbon source. SiO nanoparticles were used as the backup substrate for the placement of CQDs. In spite of biocompatibility, porosity and having high specific area are the unique features of SiO nanoparticles. When MA is present, the fluorescence response of MIPs enhances. This is caused by the passivation and adjustment of active clusters that are present on the surface of CQDs. By this optical sensor, the favorable linear dynamic range (5.0-250 μM) and the detection limit (1.6 μM) were obtained. The applicability of the advanced sensor was studied in real samples such as human urine and human blood plasma. Acceptable results were obtained and recovery amounts were in the 92-110% interval.
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Author