Preparation of upconversion NaYF4:Yb/Tm@NaYF4:Yb-Cit-CD for doxorubicin detection

Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), an anthraquinone-based antibiotic, is widely used in human tumors treatment. However, the residues of DOX in body would pose a threat to the health of heart and liver. Herein, a photochemical sensor NaYF4:Yb/Tm@NaYF4:Yb-Cit-CD (UCNPs) for detecting DOX has been developed in this paper. The fluorescence emission spectrum of UCNPs under 980 nm laser excitation has a wide range overlap with UV–vis absorption spectrum of DOX. Therefore, the fluorescence emission of UCNPs at 480 nm can be quenched by DOX. The UCNPs sensor has displayed a linear range of 0.05–20 μg/mL with a detection limit (LOD) of 0.005 μg/mL for DOX. Furthermore, the results of recovery for DOX in human serum samples is 98.68–104.20% and in accord with those obtained by HPLC and UV–vis.