Carbon dots as fluorescent probes for detection of VB₁₂ based on the inner filter effect

In this study, we constructed a new fluorescent sensing for VB₁₂ and investigated the mechanism of vitamin B₁₂ (VB₁₂) quenching fluorescence of carbon dots (CDs). The fluorescence suppression is attributed to the inner filter effect (IFE) because of the overlap between UV-vis absorption spectrum of VB₁₂ and emission/excitation spectra of CDs. This CDs-based sensor provides obvious advantages of simplicity, convenience, rapid response, high selectivity and sensitivity, which has potential application for the detection of VB₁₂ in the medical and food industry.