Phenyl doped graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets for sensing of copper ions in living cells

Abstract

Copper (Cu) is a vital metal element for humans and animals. Monitoring and evaluating the concentration level of Cu²⁺ in a biological body is an effective way to prevent a variety of diseases. In this work, phenyl doped graphitic carbon nitride (PDCN) nanosheets with strong green fluorescence exhibited a sensitive and selective detection for Cu²⁺ with a linear range from 0.1–2.0 μmol L⁻¹. Furthermore, fluorescent imaging was applied to semiquantitatively detect Cu²⁺ in HeLa cells using PDCN nanosheets as the probe, which can avoid the interference of background autofluorescence. This work provided a low-cost and biologically friendly fluorescent probe to monitor the concentration level of Cu²⁺ in living cells.