Upconversion fluorescence metal-organic frameworks thermo-sensitive imprinted polymer for enrichment and sensing protein

A novel fluorescence material with thermo-sensitive for the enrichment and sensing of protein was successfully prepared by combining molecular imprinting technology with upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Herein, the UCNPs acted as signal reporter for composite materials because of its excellent fluorescence property and chemical stability. MOFs were introduced to molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) due to its high specific surface area which increases the rate of mass transfer relative to that of traditional bulk MIP. The thermo-sensitive imprinted material which allows for swelling and shrinking with response to temperature changes was prepared by choosing Bovine hemoglobin (BHB) as the template, N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAAM) as the temperature-sensitive functional monomer and N,N-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as the cross-linker. The recognition characterizations of imprinted material-coated UCNPs/MOFs (UCNPs/MOFs/MIP) were evaluated, and the results showed that the fluorescence intensity of UCNPs/MOFs/MIP reduced gradually with the increase of BHB concentration. The fluorescence material was response to the temperature. The adsorption capacity was as much as 167.6 mg/g at 28 °C and 101.2 mg/g at 44 °C, which was higher than that of traditional MIP. Therefore, this new fluorescence material for enrichment and sensing protein is very promising for future applications.