Luminescent Sensor with High Sensitivity and Selectivity for Amikacin Detection in a Serum using a Unique Gallium–Organic Framework

Amikacin is a widely used antibiotic in the treatment of Gram-negative bacteria, but high concentrations of amikacin can cause cochlear nerve damage. Therefore, accurate and quick detection of the concentration of amikacin is desired and important. In this work, we have synthesized a new gallium-organic framework {[(CH3)2(NH2)Ga(PPTA)]·0.5DMF}n (1) (H4PPTA = 4,4',4″,4″'-(1-4-phenlene-bis(pyridine-4,2,6-triyl)) with good solvent and pH stabilities. A structure analysis reveals that 1 is a twofold interpenetrated framework exhibiting a large 1D square aperture with a size of 10.8 Å × 14 Å. The experimental results show that 1 can be used as a stable, fast, and recyclable luminescent probe for the detection of amikacin in aqueous solution and serum. The limit of detection is 2.9 × 10-7 mol/L, which is lower than the harmful concentration of amikacin in human serum. This is the first example of a metal-organic framework used for luminescence sensing of amikacin.