Synthesis and characterization of a novel metal-organic framework called nanosized electroactive quasi-coral-340 (NEQC-340) and its application for constructing a reusable nanozyme-based sensor for selective and sensitive glutathione quantification

In this contribution, a novel nanosized metal–organic framework (MOF) called nanosized electroactive quasi-coral-340 (NEQC-340) was synthesized using tris(p-aminophenyl)amine and Fe2+ as the amino-linker and metal-core, respectively. Factors affecting the yield of NEQC-340 synthesis were evaluated. The formation of NEQC-340 coordinated binding (Fe-N) was confirmed by FT-IR, EDX, and XRD analysis, and its optical properties were checked by UV–Visible and fluorescence spectroscopy. The size and morphology of NEQC-340 were investigated by SEM and DLS, indicating a quasi-coral morphology and a size of 144.9 ± 38.1 nm (DLS) for the introduced MOF. The NEQC-340 shows excellent electro-activity and high peroxidase-like activity. In the presence of glutathione, its peroxidase-like activity was significantly inhibited, hence, the introduced NEQC-340 was used for constructing a reusable nanozyme-based sensor for the selective and sensitive glutathione determination in human blood serum without any deproteinization or dilution. A wide linear range from 0.02 to 20.0 mg L−1 with a detection limit of 0.013 mg L−1 (3.25 nM) was achieved. Besides, the analytical signal was stabled for 10 reuse of NEQC-340, indicating good reusability of the developed sensor.