Synthesis of water-soluble CdS quantum dots for the fluorescence detection of tetracycline

An effective strategy for combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) entails the early detection of antibiotics during the initial stages of water treatment facilities. In this context, cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS QDs) were employed for the precise detection of tetracycline (TET), an emerging contaminant, in water. CdS QDs with fluorescence properties were synthesized by culturing Citrobacter freundii bacteria. The CdS QDs were characterized by spectroscopy techniques, and the quantum efficiency was estimated to be 55.8% which is ∼2-fold high compared to the standard rhodamine-B solution. The fluorescence of CdS QDs was quenched at 440 nm in the presence of TET. The linear range of TET was varied from 10 to 100 μM with a lower limit of detection of ∼23 nM. The CdS QDs were used to detect TET in river water, tap water, and milk which showed an excellent recovery rate. Therefore, the novel biosynthesis CdS QDs can be a significant fluorescence probe for the detection of TET that shows exceptional sensitivity and selectivity.