Metal organic framework based fluorescence sensor for detection of antibiotics

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are multidimensional coordination polymeric materials formed by coordinating half-filled d-/f-block metal ions with mono-/multi-dentate organic ligands. Due to their structural flexibility, porosity, adsorption sites and controllable synthesis have gained significant attention in gas storage, chemical sensing, heterogeneous catalysis and biological applications. The individual metal ion-ligand interaction mechanisms observed in coordination complexes of d-/f-block metal ions like Metal Centered (MC), Ligand-to-Metal Charge Transfer (LMCT) and Metal-to-Ligand Charge Transfer (MLCT) are also applicable to these coordination polymers and, that makes them more interesting in their applications. MOFs are very promising for fabricating fluorescent or luminescent sensors because the fluorescence can be generated from the metal and the ligand units and can also be tuned by the interplay/interactions among the building components. The energy is transferred through a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) mechanism that is important for applying MOFs for antibiotic detection. The excess dosage of antibiotics is transmitted to the environment and the human body resulting in a serious threat to mankind. The frequently used conventional methods for the analysis of antibiotics residue, especially detection in clinical, environment and food products, biological complex matrices are time-consuming, non-specific, poor sensitivity, complex and requires skilled personnel. Immunologic and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) based methods are expensive, lack specificity, and yield false results. As outlined in this review, MOFs based fluorescent sensors have now become effective alternative tools for rapid and routine detection for clinical and environmental analysis, as well as for food safety control. We provide an overview regarding the uses of MOFs based materials sensors in the development of fluorescence with special emphasis on underlying detection principles, sensitivity, specificity, and their capability of multiplexed analysis. The diverse MOFs based materials are used for antibiotics detection, which is critically analyzed concerning their advantages and limitations for future applications in the diagnosis of antibiotics in the environment.