Green Carbon Dots from Pinecones and Pine Bark for Amoxicillin and Tetracycline Detection: A Circular Economy Approach

Over the years, the abuse of antibiotics has increased, leading to their presence in the environment. Therefore, a sustainable method for detecting these substances is crucial. Researchers have explored biomass-based carbon dots (CDs) to detect various contaminants, due to their low cost, environmen...

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Main Authors: Saheed O. Sanni, Ajibola A. Bayode, Hendrik G. Brink, Nils H. Haneklaus, Lin Fu, Jianping Shang, Hua-Jun Shawn Fan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Journal of Xenobiotics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4713/15/2/43
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author Saheed O. Sanni
Ajibola A. Bayode
Hendrik G. Brink
Nils H. Haneklaus
Lin Fu
Jianping Shang
Hua-Jun Shawn Fan
author_facet Saheed O. Sanni
Ajibola A. Bayode
Hendrik G. Brink
Nils H. Haneklaus
Lin Fu
Jianping Shang
Hua-Jun Shawn Fan
author_sort Saheed O. Sanni
collection DOAJ
description Over the years, the abuse of antibiotics has increased, leading to their presence in the environment. Therefore, a sustainable method for detecting these substances is crucial. Researchers have explored biomass-based carbon dots (CDs) to detect various contaminants, due to their low cost, environmental friendliness, and support of a circular economy. In our study, we reported the synthesis of CDs using pinecones (PCs) and pinebark (PB) through a sustainable microwave method. We characterized the PCCDs and PBCDs using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscope, and Fourier transform infrared, Ultraviolet-visible, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The PCCDs and PBCDs were tested for the detection of amoxicillin (AMX) and tetracycline (TC). The results indicated that the sizes of the PCCDs and PBCDs were 19.2 nm and 18.39 nm, respectively, and confirmed the presence of the 002 plane of the graphitic carbon structure. They exhibited excitation wavelength dependence, good stability, and quantum yields ranging from 6% to 11%. PCCDs and PBCDs demonstrated “turn-off” detection for TC and AMX. The limits of detection (LOD) for TC across a broader concentration range were found to be 0.062 µM for PCCDs and 0.2237 µM for PBCDs. For AMX detection, PBCDs presented an LOD of 0.49 µM.
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spelling doaj-art-00178fc8873b4c48b86e4f5125a2ff352025-08-20T02:28:31ZengMDPI AGJournal of Xenobiotics2039-47052039-47132025-03-011524310.3390/jox15020043Green Carbon Dots from Pinecones and Pine Bark for Amoxicillin and Tetracycline Detection: A Circular Economy ApproachSaheed O. Sanni0Ajibola A. Bayode1Hendrik G. Brink2Nils H. Haneklaus3Lin Fu4Jianping Shang5Hua-Jun Shawn Fan6College of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University of Science & Engineering, Zigong 643000, ChinaCollege of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University of Science & Engineering, Zigong 643000, ChinaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South AfricaTd-Lab Sustainable Mineral Resources, Universität für Weiterbildung Krems, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, 3500 Krems an der Donau, AustriaCollege of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University of Science & Engineering, Zigong 643000, ChinaCollege of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University of Science & Engineering, Zigong 643000, ChinaCollege of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University of Science & Engineering, Zigong 643000, ChinaOver the years, the abuse of antibiotics has increased, leading to their presence in the environment. Therefore, a sustainable method for detecting these substances is crucial. Researchers have explored biomass-based carbon dots (CDs) to detect various contaminants, due to their low cost, environmental friendliness, and support of a circular economy. In our study, we reported the synthesis of CDs using pinecones (PCs) and pinebark (PB) through a sustainable microwave method. We characterized the PCCDs and PBCDs using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscope, and Fourier transform infrared, Ultraviolet-visible, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The PCCDs and PBCDs were tested for the detection of amoxicillin (AMX) and tetracycline (TC). The results indicated that the sizes of the PCCDs and PBCDs were 19.2 nm and 18.39 nm, respectively, and confirmed the presence of the 002 plane of the graphitic carbon structure. They exhibited excitation wavelength dependence, good stability, and quantum yields ranging from 6% to 11%. PCCDs and PBCDs demonstrated “turn-off” detection for TC and AMX. The limits of detection (LOD) for TC across a broader concentration range were found to be 0.062 µM for PCCDs and 0.2237 µM for PBCDs. For AMX detection, PBCDs presented an LOD of 0.49 µM.https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4713/15/2/43carbon dotspine conepine barkamoxicillintetracyclinefluorescent quenching
spellingShingle Saheed O. Sanni
Ajibola A. Bayode
Hendrik G. Brink
Nils H. Haneklaus
Lin Fu
Jianping Shang
Hua-Jun Shawn Fan
Green Carbon Dots from Pinecones and Pine Bark for Amoxicillin and Tetracycline Detection: A Circular Economy Approach
Journal of Xenobiotics
carbon dots
pine cone
pine bark
amoxicillin
tetracycline
fluorescent quenching
title Green Carbon Dots from Pinecones and Pine Bark for Amoxicillin and Tetracycline Detection: A Circular Economy Approach
title_full Green Carbon Dots from Pinecones and Pine Bark for Amoxicillin and Tetracycline Detection: A Circular Economy Approach
title_fullStr Green Carbon Dots from Pinecones and Pine Bark for Amoxicillin and Tetracycline Detection: A Circular Economy Approach
title_full_unstemmed Green Carbon Dots from Pinecones and Pine Bark for Amoxicillin and Tetracycline Detection: A Circular Economy Approach
title_short Green Carbon Dots from Pinecones and Pine Bark for Amoxicillin and Tetracycline Detection: A Circular Economy Approach
title_sort green carbon dots from pinecones and pine bark for amoxicillin and tetracycline detection a circular economy approach
topic carbon dots
pine cone
pine bark
amoxicillin
tetracycline
fluorescent quenching
url https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4713/15/2/43
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