A novel Mn2+-doped core/shell quantum dot-based intracellular probe for fluoride anions sensing in MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells

•3-Aminobenzeneboronic acid functionalized Mn2+-doped ZnTe/ZnSe quantum dots were prepared.•The fluorescence intensity of APBA-dQDs was related linearly to the concentration of F– in the range of 0.25–1.5 µmol/L.•The proposed methodology for the sensing of F– in MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells was demonstrated

In this paper, 3-aminobenzeneboronic acid functionalized Mn2+-doped ZnTe/ZnSe quantum dots (APBA-dQDs) were prepared. The APBA functional groups had strong binding ability with F–, resulting in the quenchment of dQDs photoluminescence (PL). Under the optimal condition, the fluorescence intensity of APBA-dQDs was related linearly to the concentration of F– in the range of 0.25–1.5 µmol/L with a detection limit of 0.1 µmol/L. The selectivity of fluorescence quenching of APBA-dQDs for F– was enhanced. Moreover, the proposed methodology for the sensing of F– at EM 560 nm in MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells was demonstrated and got a satisfactory results. The results indicate that the APBA-dQDs are promising candidates for intracellular in MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells. To the best of our knowledge, it was the first report of F– sensing by using the quenched fluorescence of APBA-dQDs in non-cancerous cells.

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