Rapid visualized assessment of tetracycline in actual fruit samples: The combination of perovskite and rare earth complexes

The abuse of tetracycline (TC) has resulted in serious environmental pollution and the preparation of highly sensitive fluorescent probes capable of rapidly detecting TC has become a hot research field. All-inorganic halide perovskites have attracted extensive because of their good fluorescent properties, while the instability in polar solvents hinders its development for practical applications. In the present study, a perovskite quantum dot that can emit green fluorescence was prepared, and a ratio nanocomposite fluorescent probe (CsPbBr3@Cs4PbBr6@NH2@Eu) for the rapid visual assessment of TC in ethanol was obtained through functional modification by rare earth complexes. The continuous addition of TC led to the distinct color transition from green to red, resulting in the visualized multicolor sensing for TC. The probe had a good linear relationship with detection limit of 12.1 nM. The sensing mechanism research indicated that the quenching of perovskite nanocrystals in the probe was caused by the PET effect, and the red fluorescence enhancement was caused by the “antenna effect” produced by the chelation of TC with Eu3+. In addition, a portable wearable device for the fast visual detection of TC was developed to realize the rapid and intelligent detection of TC in actual fruit samples. [Display omitted] •An interesting perovskite-Eu hybrid nanosensor was designed.•Rapid visualized assessment of TC in actual fruit samples was achieved.•The probe had a good linear relationship and the LOD was 12.1 nM.•A portable wearable device was designed for intelligent detection of TC.