Single-step synthesis of N-doped carbon dots and applied for dopamine sensing, in vitro multicolor cellular imaging as well as fluorescent ink

•Synthesis of N-CDs and utilized in the field of dopamine detection, cell imaging as well as fluorescent ink.•These synthesized N-CDs detect dopamine with a limit of detection is 0.2 nM.•N-CDs are also used for the visual detection of dopamine in the aqueous medium.•The fluorescence intensity of N-CDs can be quenched by IFE process and followed static quenching.•This sensing mechanism was characterized by lifetime decay and UV–vis spectroscopy study.