Enhanced Sensitivity and Accuracy of Tb3+-Functionalized Zirconium-Based Bimetallic MOF for Visual Detection of Malachite Green in Fish

• Published in: Foods 2024-09, Vol.13 (17), p.2855
• Main Authors: Zhou, Yue, Jiang, Yuanyuan, Chen, Xiangyu, Long, Hongchen, Zhang, Mao, Tang, Zili, He, Yufang, Zhang, Lei, Le, Tao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accuracy; Bimetals; Clean energy; Energy transfer; Fluorescence; Fluorescence in situ hybridization; Fluorescence resonance energy transfer; Fluorescent indicators; Fourier transforms; FRET; Malachite green; Performance evaluation; ratiometric fluorescence; Sensors; smartphone; Spectrum analysis; UiO-OH@Tb; Zirconium
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods13172855

The ratiometric fluorescent probe UiO-OH@Tb, a zirconium-based MOF functionalized with Tb3+, was synthesized using a hydrothermal method. This probe employs the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) mechanism between Tb3+ and malachite green (MG) for the double-inverse signal ratiometric fluorescence detection of MG. The probe’s color shifts from lime green to blue with an increasing concentration of MG. In contrast, the monometallic MOFs’ (UiO-OH) probe shows only blue fluorescence quenching due to the inner filter effect (IFE) after interacting with MG. Additionally, the composite fluorescent probe (UiO-OH@Tb) exhibits superior sensitivity, with a detection limit (LOD) of 0.19 μM, which is significantly lower than that of the monometallic MOFs (25 μM). Moreover, the content of MG can be detected on-site (LOD = 0.94 μM) using the RGB function of smartphones. Hence, the UiO-OH@Tb probe is proven to be an ideal material for MG detection, demonstrating significant practical value in real-world applications.