A novel and sensitive chemosensor based on a KMnO4-rhodamine B-CdS quantum dot chemiluminescence system for meropenem detection.

A sensitive and simple flow injection chemiluminescence (CL) system was constructed for the determination of meropenem, in which the CL intensity of the KMnO4-rhodamine B (Rh B) reaction was enhanced in the presence of CdS quantum dots (QDs). A CL resonance energy transfer (CRET) occurs between CdS QDs as a donor and Rh B as an energy acceptor. Based on the strong specific quenching effect of meropenem on the CL intensity, a novel chemosensor for meropenem sensing was developed. Under the optimized conditions, the quenched CL emission intensity was proportional to the concentration of meropenem in the range of 0.002-10.0 mg L(-1) with a detection limit (3σ) of 0.8 μg L(-1) Moreover, the feasibility of the induced CL system was studied via the meropenem determination in environmental water samples.