Development of sustainable fluorescence approach with red emissive carbon dots derived from Grewia asiatica fruit for the detection of quinalphos

A sustainable and eco-friendly approach was developed for the fabrication of red emissive carbon dots via microwave-assisted method using Grewia asiatica fruits as a source. The as-prepared Grewia asiatica-carbon dots (GA-CDs) exhibited red emission at 672 nm upon the excitation at 420 nm with a quantum yield of 21 %. The characteristic emission intensity of GA-CDs (λ_Em = 672 nm) is selectively quenched by quinalphos (QLP) pesticide via inner filter effect. The as-prepared GA-CDs serve as a versatile turn-off fluorescent probe for QLP sensing, displaying wider linear range (0.25–60 μM) with an impressive detection limit of 0.00159 μM. The integration of GA-CDs with fluorescence spectrometry offers to establish a rapid, simple and miniaturize analytical strategy for QLP assay in vegetable, water and soil samples. Furthermore, the bioimaging and cytotoxicity characteristics of GA-CDs were evaluated on yeast cells and lung cancer cells, respectively. This method provides a facile and convenient pathway for the on-site detection of QLP in food and agriculture samples.