Fabrication of Dual-Ligand Zn-MOFs with Asynchronous Fluorescence Response for Efficient Ratiometric/Visual Sensing of Tetracycline Antibiotics in Animal-Derived Foods
Chunhua Li, Zhehang Tian, Guanqun Luan, Luqian Bao, Mengyao Cui, Yixin Ji, Xieyang Zhang
Abstract
The extensive use of tetracyclines in livestock poses health risks due to their residues in animal-derived food; therefore, developing simple detection methods to replace complex traditional approaches is of paramount importance. Here, we developed a dual-ligand zinc-based metal–organic framework material, Zn-BTC-BDC-NH 2 (denoted as ZTD), for the detection of tetracyclines. The intrinsic blue fluorescence of ZTD was quenched upon the introduction of tetracyclines due to electron transfer from −NH 2 of ZTD to −CO– and −OH groups of tetracycline molecules; meanwhile, the new green fluorescence emission was generated through π–π stacking between aromatic rings and the formation of complexes between Zn 2+ and C–O/C═O groups. In real food samples, ZTD exhibited recovery rates ranging from 93.62 to 110.66%, with detection limits as low as 0.011 μmol·L –1 . Additionally, a ZTD fluorescence test paper was developed for portable detection. This study presents a novel tetracycline detection method, offering insights into multiligand metal–organic framework preparation and future sensing method design.