"Turn On" Fluorescence Determination of Nitrite Using Green Synthesized Carbon Nanoparticles

Although several methods have been reported for the determination of nitrite, development of simple, rapid,cost-effective, and sensitive sensors still remains a great challenge.Here, a simple yet very sensitive fluorescent method for the rapid determination of nitrite has been developed. The fluorescent assay is based on the aggregation of PEG6000 coated carbon nanoparticles (PCNs) in the presence of NO2(-) ions resulting in fluorescence enhancement. The assay response was linear in a concentration range of 3.84 × 10(-8) M to 4.97 × 10(-9) M with a detection limit of 2.32 × 10(-9) M. The proposed sensor exhibited good selectivity towards NO2(-) and was successfully applied for the determination of nitrite in milk, borewell water and soil samples.