Engineering Tb(III)-functionalized HOF fluorescence sensing system for intelligent visual detection of two biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma

Abnormal levels of bilirubin and human serum albumin are precursors to hepatocellular carcinoma and many fatal diseases. Establishing a portable, highly sensitive and intuitive dual biomarker detection method for bilirubin and human serum albumin is important to protect human health. Combined with the excellent photoluminescence properties of lanthanide functionalized hydrogen bond organic framework, a novel ratiometric fluorescence intelligent sensing system was engineered with the outstanding features of large Stokes shifts, high luminous stability and the self-calibration effect of dual emission centers in this paper. With the advantage of high sensitivity, strong stability and strong anti-interference, the simultaneous detection of dual biomarkers was realized successfully. The developed fluorescence sensing system had a wide detection range of bilirubin and human serum albumin (13.5 nM ∼ 30.0 μM and 448 nM ∼ 15.0 μM), low detection limits (7.20 nM and 15.6 nM). Furthermore, the developed sensing system realized the smartphone-assisted fluorescence visual detection of bilirubin and human serum albumin in serum and urine successfully with the detection limit of 85 nM and 163 nM, providing a promising detection strategy for the early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.