Gossypol (Gsp), a
natural toxin concentrated in cottonseeds, poses
great risks to the safe consumption of cottonseed products, which
are used extensively throughout the food industry. In this work, we
report the first luminescence “turn-on” sensors for
Gsp using near-infrared emitting lanthanide (Ln3+) materials,
including Ln3+ MOFs and Ln3+ salts. We first
demonstrate that the Yb3+ photoluminescence of a Yb3+ MOF, Yb-NH2-TPDC, can be employed to selectively
detect Gsp with a limit of detection of 25 μg/mL via a “turn-on”
response from a completely nonemissive state in the absence of Gsp.
The recyclability and stability of Yb-NH2-TPDC in the presence
of Gsp was demonstrated by fluorescence spectroscopy and PXRD analysis,
respectively. A variety of background substances present in practical
samples that would require Gsp sensing, such as refined cottonseed
oil, palmitic acid, linoleic acid, and α-tocopherol, did not
interfere with the Yb3+ photoluminescence signal. We further
identified that the “turn-on” of Yb-NH2-TPDC
photoluminescence was due to the “antenna effect” of
Gsp, as evidenced by spectroscopic studies and supported by computational
analysis. This is the first report that Gsp can effectively sensitize
Yb3+ photoluminescence. Leveraging this sensing mechanism,
we demonstrate facile, highly sensitive, fast-response detection of
Gsp using YbCl3·6H2O and NdCl3·6H2O solutions. Overall, we show for the first time
that Ln3+-based materials are promising luminescent sensors
for Gsp detection. We envision that the reported sensing approach
will be applicable to the detection of a wide variety of aromatic
molecules using Ln3+ compounds including MOFs, complexes,
and salts.