As an important biomarker in urine, the level of uric acid is of importance for human health. In this work, a Cu(II) functionalized metal–organic framework (Cu2+@Tb-MOFs) is designed and developed as a novel fluorescence probe for wide-range uric acid detection in human urine. The study shows that this fluorescence platform demonstrated excellent pH-independent stability, high water tolerance, and good thermal stability. Based on the strong interaction between metal ions and uric acid, the designed Cu2+@Tb-MOFs can be employed as efficient turn-on fluorescent probes for the detection of uric acid with wide detection range (0~104 µM) and high sensitivity (LOD = 0.65 µM). This probe also demonstrates an anti-interference property, as other species coexisted, and the possibility for recycling. The sensing mechanisms are further discussed at length. More importantly, we experimentally constructed a molecular logic gate operation based on this fluorescence probe for intelligent detection of uric acid. These results suggest the Cu(II) functionalized metal–organic framework can act as a prominent candidate for personalized monitoring of the concentration of uric acid in the human urine system.

In this work, CDs@Eu-UiO-66(COOH)2 (denoted as CDs-F2), a fluorescent material made up of carbon dots (CDs) and a Eu3+ functionalized metal–organic framework, has been designed and prepared via a post-synthetic modification method. The synthesized CDs-F2 presents dual emissions at 410 nm and 615 nm, which can effectively avoid environmental interference. CDs-F2 exhibits outstanding selectivity, great sensitivity, and good anti-interference for ratiometric sensing Cu2+ in water. The linear range is 0–200 µM and the limit of detection is 0.409 µM. Interestingly, the CDs-F2’s silicon plate achieves rapid and selective detection of Cu2+. The change in fluorescence color can be observed by the naked eye. These results reveal that the CDs-F2 hybrid can be employed as a simple, rapid, and sensitive fluorescent probe to detect Cu2+. Moreover, the possible sensing mechanism of this dual-emission fluorescent probe is discussed in detail.

Thiodiglycolic acid (TDGA) is a biomarker for monitoring vinyl chloride exposure. Exploring a facile, rapid and precise analysis technology to quantify TDGA is of great significance. In this research, we demonstrate a fluorescent sensor based on dual-emissive UiO-66 for TDGA detection. This ratiometric fluorescent material named C460@Tb-UiO-66-(COOH)2 was designed and synthesized by introducing organic dye 7-diethylamino-4-methylcoumarin (C460) and Tb3+ into UiO-66-(COOH)2. The as-obtained C460@Tb-UiO-66-(COOH)2 samples showed highly selective recognition, excellent anti-interference and rapid response characteristics for the recognition of TDGA. The detection limit is 0.518 mg·mL−1, which is much lower than the threshold of 20 mg·mL−1 for a healthy person. In addition, the mechanism of TDGA-induced fluorescence quenching is discussed in detail. This sensor is expected to detect TDGA content in human urine.