A terbium-functionalized ZIF-8 nanosensor for rapid and sensitive detection of an anthrax spore biomarker

• Published in: New journal of chemistry 2024-01, Vol.48 (4), p.1642-1649
• Main Authors: Zuo, Xurong, Liu, Pengfei, Sun, Qinhao, Huang, Jiahui, Zhang, Yuwei, Zhu, Xuecheng, Chen, Runqi, Meng, Xiangyu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anthrax; Biological warfare; Biomarkers; Coordination; Energy transfer; Metal-organic frameworks; Nanosensors; Spores; Tannic acid; Terbium; Zeolites
• ISSN: 1144-0546; 1369-9261
• DOI: 10.1039/d3nj04760a

Because anthrax spores are highly lethal to humans and animals as well as potential biological warfare agents, there is a great need for rapid, sensitive, and selective quantification of dipicolinic acid (DPA) as a biomarker for anthrax spores. Herein, we prepared a novel lanthanide-doped nanoprobe by coordination of Tb 3+ ions with tannic acid (TA)-coated zeolitic imidazolate frameworks-8 (ZIF-8) (ZIF-8@Tb-TA). The proposed assay was derived from the unsaturated coordination of Tb 3+ ions. In the presence of DPA, Tb 3+ ions could be sensitized to emit inherent luminescence due to the energy transfer after coordination with DPA. The results illustrated that ZIF-8@Tb-TA could be used as a sensitive nanoprobe for detecting DPA with a broad linear range (0 μM to 12.0 μM), and the limit of detection (LOD) was 12.3 nM. Moreover, the specific recognition ability of DPA by ZIF-8@Tb-TA was much better than that of other interfering molecules. This study proposed a new strategy to establish lanthanide-functionalized nanoprobes for highly selective and sensitive detection of DPA. Because anthrax spores are highly lethal to humans and animals as well as potential biological warfare agents, there is a great need for rapid, sensitive, and selective quantification of dipicolinic acid (DPA) as a biomarker for anthrax spores.