Determination of paracetamol based on its quenching effect on the photoluminescence of CdTe fluorescence probes.

L-Cysteine capped CdTe nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized in aqueous medium, and their application as fluorescence probes in the determination of paracetamol was studied. The L-cysteine capped CdTe NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction spectrometry, spectrofluorometry, ultraviolet-visible and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. Based on the distinct fluorescence quenching of CdTe fluorescence probes in the presence of paracetamol, a simple, rapid and specific method for paracetamol determination was presented. Under optimum conditions, the relative fluorescence intensity of CdTe NPs was linearly proportional to paracetamol concentration from 1.0 × 10(-8) mol/L to 1.6 × 10(-7) mol/L with a detection limit of 4.2 × 10(-9) mol/L. The proposed method was applied to detect paracetamol in commercial tablets with satisfactory results.