Facile and Sensitive Detection of Nitrogen-Containing Organic Bases with Near Infrared C-Dots Derived Assays

In this article, we have designed both colorimetric (including solution and test paper type) and spectral sensors (including UV-vis and PL type) for the quick and sensitive detection of general nitrogen-containing organic bases (NCOBs); the limit of detection could reach as low as 0.50 nM. NCOBs included 11 examples, covering aliphatic and aromatic amines, five- and six-membered heterocyclics, fused-ring heterocyclics, amino acids, and antibiotics. Furthermore, the assays demonstrated high reliability in sensing NCOBs and excellent ability to distinguish NCOBs from oxygen and sulfur containing organics. The assays developed could find important applications for the detection of NCOBs in the fields of biomedicine, chemistry, and agriculture.