Issue 11, 2019

Space-confined indicator displacement assay inside a metal–organic framework for fluorescence turn-on sensing

Abstract

The indicator displacement assay (IDA) is for the first time performed within a metal–organic framework (MOF) to achieve ultrasensitive fluorescence turn-on sensing. A Zr(IV) ion MOF (UiO-67-DQ–PsO) furnished with electron-deficient diquat units (DQ2+, as the receptor) on the wall and electron-rich 1-pyrenesulfonate anions (PsO, as the fluorescent indicator) in the pores was prepared by postsynthetic anion exchange. The MOF is capable of sensing alkylamines owing to the competing PsO–DQ2+ and alkylamine–DQ2+ charge-transfer interactions, the former interaction causing a fluorescence OFF state and the latter displacing PsO to trigger its emission. Significant advantages have been demonstrated for the IDA inside the MOF. The turn-on assay exhibits much higher sensitivity and anti-interference than the turn-off sensing using the MOF without indicators (the sensitivity is enhanced by as much as six orders of magnitude to the subnanomolar level). The integration of both the receptor and indicator in the porous solid enables facile regeneration and recyclability of the IDA ensemble. Furthermore, we show that the confined space provided by the MOF significantly enhances the supramolecular interactions to make possible the IDA impossible in solution. This work not only demonstrates a novel conceptual approach to fabricate superior fluorescence turn-on sensors using porous materials but also has important implications for supramolecular chemistry in porous materials.

Graphical abstract: Space-confined indicator displacement assay inside a metal–organic framework for fluorescence turn-on sensing

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
03 Jan 2019
Accepted
29 Jan 2019
First published
29 Jan 2019
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 3307-3314

Space-confined indicator displacement assay inside a metal–organic framework for fluorescence turn-on sensing

N. Yang, L. Zhou, P. Li, Q. Sui and E. Gao, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 3307 DOI: 10.1039/C9SC00032A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements