Eu(III) functionalized ZnMOF based efficient dual-emission sensor integrated with self-calibrating logic gate for intelligent detection of epinephrine

Abstract

The rapid detection of epinephrine (EPI) in serum holds immense importance in the early disease diagnosis and regular monitoring. On the basis of the coordination post-synthetic modification (PSM) strategy, a Eu³⁺ functionalized ZnMOF (Eu³⁺@ZnMOF) was fabricated by anchoring the Eu³⁺ ions within the microchannels of ZnMOF as secondary luminescent centers. Benefiting from two independent luminescent centers, the prepared Eu³⁺@ZnMOF shows great potential as a multi-signal self-calibrating luminescent sensor in visually and efficiently detecting serum EPI levels, with high reliability, fast response time, excellentrecycleability, and low detection limits of 17.8 ng/mL. Additionally, an intelligent sensing system was designed in accurately and reliably detecting serum EPI levels, based on the designed self-calibrating logic gates. Furthermore, the possible sensing mechanisms were elucidated through theoretical calculations as well as spectral overlaps. This work provides an effective and promising strategy for developing MOFs-based self-calibrating intelligent sensing platforms to detect bioactive molecules in bodily fluids.

Keywords: Epinephrine detection; Lagic gate; Luminescent sensor; Metal-organic framework; Post-synthetic strategy; Sensing mechanism.