Metal/covalent-organic frameworks-based electrochemical sensors for the detection of ascorbic acid, dopamine and uric acid

Ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA), and uric acid (UA) are usually found in the human endocrine system, central nervous system, and urinary system, which take extraordinary parts in the real biological matrix. Abnormal levels of these biomolecules may result to the undesirable performance of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and renal diseases. In this sense, it is significant for physiology, drug research, and disease diagnosis to detect and maintain normal concentrations of AA, DA and UA in humans in a timely manner. Metal/covalent-organic frameworks (MOFs/COFs) provide a promising platform in the syntheses of multi-functional electrochemical sensors because of the properties of ordered porous structures with adjustable sizes and microenvironments and large specific surface areas, which show significant virtues in biomolecule detection. In this review, we summarized the recent advances in MOFs/COFs-based electrochemical sensors utilized in the detection of AA, DA, and UA in the last five years. The different modification behaviors of MOFs and COFs were analyzed in detail and divided into four parts: pure MOF materials, MOF-based composites, MOF-derived materials, and COF-based materials. The behaviors of electrode modification materials (such as carbon nanomaterials, metal nanomaterials and conductive polymers) combined with MOFs/COFs for AA, DA, and UA detection were emphatically analyzed. Finally, the future challenges of MOFs/COFs-based materials as promising electrochemical sensing platforms were prospected.