Interaction of quercetin with aqueous CdSe/ZnS quantum dots and the possible fluorescence probes for flavonoids

Based on the quenching of the fluorescence intensity of quantum dots, the interaction of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots with four flavonoid compounds, including quercetin, rutin, luteolin, and 5,7,3′,4′-tetrahydroxy-flavanone, and their mechanism were studied. A fluorescence method with a detection limit of 0.14 mg L −1 for the determination of quercetin at concentrations between 0.576 and 184 mg L −1 was proposed according to its quenching effect on the QDs. The quercetin samples were determined by this method with satisfactory results. The study indicated that CdSe/ZnS QDs could be a potential excellent fluorescence probe to detect flavonoids.